


Tiger lilies

by SilentRain91



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Astra/Lucy flirting fest, Domestic Fluff, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, Kara used to be with Mon-El, Lillian is a homophobe, Past Abuse, Sanvers has triplets, Single Parents, Slow Burn Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, Supercorp endgame, side established Sanvers, yes you may cringe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-28
Updated: 2017-11-02
Packaged: 2018-09-27 13:38:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 42,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10023041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilentRain91/pseuds/SilentRain91
Summary: When Kara proposed to Lena, Lena said no. Kara moved on with her life, not knowing why Lena said no. Ten years later, Kara is a single parent, ditched by Mon-El who wasn’t good for her anyway. Suddenly she finds herself eye to eye with Lena again. Will she find out why Lena said no to her ten years ago?





	1. Chapter 1

Kara has made some poor life choices, to put it lightly. In college, she dated Lena Luthor and according to her Kryptonian ways, they were compatible for about 93 percent. When college ended, she had proposed to Lena, considering they had been dating for about three of their four years in college. Why Lena said no is beyond her, but she did.

When Lena rejected her proposal, they broke up and went their own way. Shortly after that, she met Mon-El, when his pod landed here on earth. At first she disliked him because he is a Daxamite, and oh how she wishes now she would have listened to her first instincts.

You guessed it. She didn’t listen to those instincts. No, she got to know Mon-El and according to her data they were 79 percent compatible. She pushed her doubts away and said yes when he proposed after a few months of dating. At the age of twenty-two, she got married, which may seem young, though for a Kryptonian it isn’t.

Now she’s thirty, college is ten years behind her and Mon-El left her about two years ago. Well, he left more than only her. He left her and their children, with some flimsy excuse that he never wished to have a family. She should have seen the red flags during her first pregnancy where they constantly got into arguments.

“Hey, little Danvers,” Maggie says softly, resting a hand on Kara’s upper arm. “Are you okay?”

“Um yeah, I’m fine,” Kara answers, quickly nodding and trying to smile.

“There are still a bunch of boxes to move,” Alex says, huffing as she’s lifting one. “It’s exciting that we’ll all be living in the same neighborhood.”

“It is,” Kara agrees with her sister. She’s happy that they all managed to get their hands on houses in the same street so they can live close to one another.

Alex, Kara’s thirty-two year old sister has been dating Maggie since high school and they got married eight years ago. They have three wonderful daughters together. Triplets to be exact. Jamie, Molly and Riley Danvers – Sawyer, who look a lot like her wife. Maggie had been the one who went through pregnancy. Their daughters are four years old.

Kara will be able to visit her sister easily and vice versa, considering their houses are literally right next to each other. Her children are special, like her and she wants them to be safe and happy.

“I got the couch,” Lyra says, balancing their couch on one hand.

“Lyra Zor-El, put that couch down,” Kara says, pointing at the floor.

“Nobody saw, mommy,” Lyra assures her mother.

Kara sighs as her six year old daughter finally puts the couch down. It’s important for all of them to be careful and to blend in. “Where is your brother?” she asks Lyra.

“I got him,” Lucy says as she walks in with Kara’s son. “Who is the cutest boy in the world?” she asks, tickling Apollo. “You are,” she coos.

Kara smiles at her best friend, who is always being adorable with her two year old son. Mon-El left them about a week after she gave birth to Apollo. Her aunt had offered to seek him out and tear him in half, but she had pleaded Astra not to do that.

Lyra has her mother’s dark blonde locks and her mother’s blue eyes. Apollo’s eyes are green and his hair is brown.

“Don’t break my finger, little cutie,” Lucy says when Apollo has a tight grip around her index finger.

“I can take him,” Astra says, holding her arms out.

“Nope, there’s a line,” Lucy replies teasingly. “So you’ll have to get in line.”

“My son can walk you know,” Kara comments, sighing while her aunt and Lucy bicker about who gets to hold Apollo.

“Hey,” Lucy objects when Astra takes Apollo out of her hands. “Just you wait, Star.”

“I shall,” Astra replies, smiling lightly.

“Why do I live in this street so close to you again?” Lucy asks, crossing her arms over her chest while she smiles.

“You would miss me terribly otherwise,” Astra answers while she rocks Apollo in her arms.

“Are you two flirting again?” Lyra asks Lucy and Astra.

“We’re not flirting,” Lucy answers, appalled. “Who told you that?”

“Auntie Maggie,” Lyra answers. “She said you’re gay for Astra.”

“Maggie, stop teaching my daughter those things,” Kara says, shaking her head.

“Not my fault that it’s true,” Maggie mumbles, having seen plenty of how Lucy looks at Astra.

Lyra squeals when her best friend walks into their house. “Lili!” she shouts happily, flinging herself into Lilith’s arms.

“Ouch. Too tight,” Lilith replies, groaning as Lyra hugs her.

“Oh Rao, I’m sorry,” Lyra apologizes, quickly letting go.

Kara is happy for her daughter that her best friend lives in this neighborhood so they will get to hang out more. Lilith is the six year old daughter of Ivy and Harley, who she randomly met at the park two years ago. Their daughters instantly bonded with one another. This neighborhood is good and child-friendly.

“I can carry this box,” Molly says as she tries to put her tiny arms around a box.

“No, I can carry it,” Riley says, putting her arms around the same box.

“I want to carry it,” Jamie says, wriggling herself between her sisters.

“You can each carry a different box, munchkins,” Maggie says gently. “There are some light boxes in the corner with pillows in them.”

“I’ll get there first,” Riley says, making a run for it.

“No, I will,” Molly replies, hurrying after her sister.

“Girls, no running in the house,” Alex warns her daughters.

Lyra giggles when the triplets stumble on top of one another. “Silly cousins,” she says, walking over to them to help them up to their feet.

Kara lifts a box with plates to busy herself in the kitchen. Having to put everything away extra carefully feels like walking around in a castle made out of glass, because it can all break so easily.

“You sure you’re okay?” Maggie asks, leaning against the kitchen table. “You’ve got that crinkle again, little Danvers.”

Kara sighs deeply and looks at Maggie. Recently, Lyra finally stopped asking if her father was going to come home. Apollo doesn’t know Mon-El, which is probably for the better, but her daughter remembers him. “It’s rough sometimes,” she answers, putting the plates down before she can shatter them. “I can’t help but wonder if I’m just not good enough. First I got rejected by you know who and then I got ditched by you know who.”

Maggie understands that Kara tries to avoid talking about Lena and Mon-El when Lyra can hear them. She doesn’t know what Lena’s deal was for rejecting Kara, but at least she didn’t string her along. What Mon-El did was low and he’s such an asshole for having abandoned Kara and those two little angels.

“You’ve always been good enough,” Maggie says as she holds her arms out to Kara. “Your worth isn’t measured upon who wants to be in a relationship with you.”

Kara quietly accepts Maggie’s hug and sometimes she wishes she would have never even been with Mon-El, but then she wouldn’t have had Lyra and Apollo. She also wishes at times that she would have never proposed to Lena because it was humiliating to hear her say no when she stood there like a hopeful lovesick puppy.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lena quietly takes a seat, ignoring her mother’s imploring gaze. She knows that her mother is displeased with her for what she has done, but she doesn’t want to care about that.

“He was a good man, Lena,” Lillian says with a clear undertone of disapproval.

“I did not love him, mother,” Lena replies coolly. She grips her glass of red wine and takes a generous sip.

“Nobody is in a relationship out of love,” Lillian says coldly. “He comes from a wealthy family.”

Lena does not care about money and it would have been pointless to stay with the man her mother had appointed her to when she did not love him. Even if he would have actually been a decent guy, which for the record he wasn’t, she is a lesbian. That’s not something she can say to her mother though, no. Her mother spits on the thought of her being anything other than her straight daughter.

“He was not a good man for us,” Lena says quietly, wanting her mother to understand she does not say this lightly.

“Every man needs to raise his fist sometimes to maintain order,” Lillian replies, unrelenting.

“I do not care that he lifted a hand at me,” Lena states sharply. “When he raised a hand at our daughter, that’s where I drew the line. You can say what you want, mother, but I shall not let anyone hurt my little darling.”

“Each child needs a proper beating sometimes to be obedient,” Lillian says coldheartedly.

“Not my child,” Lena replies, pushing her chair back with a loud screech. “Larissa is my daughter. Mine, is that understood? I am her mother and nobody, _nobody_ is ever allowed to touch a single hair on her head or so help me god I will bury them six feet under.”

Ever since Lena lost Kara, Larissa has been the only person she has loved. Ten years ago, it broke her heart having to reject Kara because she was in love with her, she really was, but her mother had already promised her hand to a man. When Kara proposed to her, she couldn’t face the music and turned her down. She didn’t want to drag such a special person down in her family drama.

Letting go was for the better, especially given Kara’s secret and her family’s famous hatred towards aliens. It’s a hatred she doesn’t share, but she knew Kara deserved far better, so she let her go. Larissa is her seven year old daughter and she was lucky to even have given birth to her after the man she was with pushed her down a flight of stairs.

Lillian freezes and glares dangerously at Lena for having snapped like that. “How dare you?” she asks, practically growling as her hand moves to connect with Lena’s face.

Lena catches her mother’s wrist and glares back just as fiercely. “I am no longer a child, mother,” she answers, dropping her wrist.

“Get out,” Lillian sneers, throwing her glass onto the floor. “You are no longer a child of mine.”

Lena never truly was her mother’s child to begin with, but she holds her lips pursed and walks away to collect her daughter and leave. She needs to create a better life, for Larissa’s sake.

Larissa is sitting on her bed when her mother enters her bedroom. “Mama, did you two fight again?” she asks, tilting her head to the side.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Lena answers softly. She opens the closet to pack her daughter’s clothes. “Pack your stuffed animals, my little darling, we’re moving out.”

Larissa walks up to her mother and wraps her arms around her legs. “I’m afraid, mama,” she whimpers. “What if daddy finds us?”

“I will never let anyone hurt you,” Lena answers, crouching down to face her daughter. “I’ll keep you safe, I promise.”

Larissa buries her face in her mother’s neck. “Is daddy going to hurt you again?” she asks with a small voice.

“No, he won’t,” Lena answers, rubbing Larissa’s back soothingly. “We will go somewhere where he won’t find us.”

“Do you pinkie promise daddy won’t hurt us?”

“I pinkie promise,” Lena whispers while locking her pinky with Larissa’s.

“Cross your heart?” Larissa asks, looking into her mother’s eyes.

“Cross my heart,” Lena answers, making a cross movement over her chest. “I already found us a new house. We have to go now,” she says, without adding that they have to leave before Larissa’s father bangs on the door.

Lena hurries to pack more clothes and quickly shuts the suitcase. She lifts the suitcase up with one arm and her daughter with the other. Without sparing another glance, she exits her mother’s house and signals the first cab she sees to get away.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Kara hums a lullaby in Kryptonese to help her son sleep. She can see that his eyes are drooping and he’s sucking on his thumb. Eventually she’ll have to teach him not to suck on his thumb, but for now it’s really cute.

“Is he sleeping yet, mommy?” Lyra asks quietly as she tiptoes in her brother’s bedroom.

“Almost, sweetie,” Kara answers silently. “I’ll be in your bedroom for your bedtime story soon,” she promises.

“Okay, mommy,” Lyra replies, walking back to her own room.

Kara presses a kiss to Apollo’s forehead, relieved that he’s finally sleeping. She hopes her son will sleep well tonight without waking up. The window is shut tightly, so that’s good. She definitely doesn’t want to repeat what happened at her last house, where Apollo had woken up one night and had flown out of the window. Luckily, she caught him early and it was pitch black outside, but it gave her quite the scare.

Raising two children with powers like hers is challenging and when she was pregnant it wasn’t easy either. She had to put aside being Supergirl while she was pregnant, for safety reasons and also to ensure it wouldn’t leak out that she has children. Mon-El used to call her lazy during those months and he felt like it wouldn’t matter if people would know.

She remembers how often her sister scolded Mon-El each time he made her cry. Alex never understood why she didn’t simply divorce Mon-El, but the Kryptonian law forbids divorcing. Even when she knew he wasn’t such a great guy, she tried to make it work for the sake of their children and for the sake of honoring the laws she was raised by.

It’s understandable to her that Alex didn’t understand why she was so stuck on Kryptonian laws. Maggie and Lucy didn’t understand that either. Her aunt did understand, though Astra was never quite pleased when Mon-El was near. Mon-El often used to complain to her, claiming that her aunt walked roughly into him on purpose. It’s probably true that Astra did that, though she always stuck up for her aunt and told Mon-El he had it all wrong.

Mon-El disrespected her laws and values when he left her. She can forgive him for divorcing her and therefore breaking her law, but she will never forgive him for walking out on Lyra and Apollo. Her forgiveness goes far, though she does have limits. In the two years Mon-El has been gone, he didn’t seek contact once, not once did he ask how the children are doing.

Kara walks into Lyra’s bedroom, who is sitting cross legged on her bed, waiting for her bedtime story. She smiles and sits on the edge of her daughter’s bed. “Once upon a time there was a princess, heir of the house of El…”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lena turns the key in the lock, opening the door. It’s unusual to move this late at night, but at least that means they haven’t been seen. She tried to think of everything when she arranged moving here, which is why she owns a restraining order that claims Larissa’s father cannot be near them. Taking precautions was essential considering he is a violent man.

“I’m sleepy, mama,” Larissa says, rubbing her eyes.

“I know, my little darling,” Lena replies, aware that it’s late. “We’ll go to sleep now.”

“Can I sleep in your room?” Larissa asks, clinging on to her mother. “I don’t want to sleep alone.”

“Yes, you can,” Lena answers while lifting Larissa up. “Everything is going to get better,” she promises, wanting to do the best she can to offer her daughter a better life.

Larissa yawns and closes her eyes as her mother puts her to sleep.

Lena tucks the blanket around her daughter. They’ve been through a lot and it’s been heavy on Larissa. It’s wrong how much her mother wanted to force her to stay in the abusive relationship she was in. For a long time she did try to make it work, even though she never loved him. She tried to be the good daughter her mother wanted her to be.

When Larissa’s father didn’t seem satisfied with hitting her anymore, he had tried to raise a hand at their daughter and that’s where she snapped. She told him she never wants to see him ever again, though he hardly accepts no for an answer. How her mother could say what she always told her makes no sense.

Her own father wasn’t violent, so it’s odd that her mother would find it normal to have violence in a relationship. Her father was rather strict at times, but he was fair and he was a decent man. She should have left her toxic family long ago. Lionel had passed away when she was a teenager and after that her mother has been putting more pressure onto her shoulders.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Alex groans quietly when she feels a body jumping on top of hers. It must be rather early because she gets up early every morning and so far she’s still tired. “Little monsters,” she mutters, not cracking her eyes open yet.

“Mommy, wake up,” Jamie says, putting her hands on her mother’s cheeks.

“You too, mama,” Molly says, poking their other mother.

“Hey, munchkins,” Maggie says, opening her eyes to look at Jamie, Molly and Riley.

“Mama is up!” Riley shouts excitedly.

“It’s still early, baby,” Maggie replies, wanting to sleep some more.

“We’re hungry, mama,” Jamie says pleadingly.

“Veto,” Maggie whispers, closing her eyes again.

“Don’t you dare veto me, Sawyer,” Alex mumbles, opening her eyes to look at her wife. “If I’m getting up, you’re getting up too.”

“Fine,” Maggie relents, moving to sit up.

“No more jumping, girls,” Alex warns when their daughters continue to jump on their bed.

Jamie staggers out of bed, running along in her Supergirl pajamas. “I can have coco pops,” she says, sticking her tongue out to her sisters.

“Not if I get them first,” Riley replies, hurrying after her sister.

“Wait for me,” Molly says, running to follow her sisters.

“Hey, no running,” Alex says with a lightly reprimanding tone.

Maggie rolls onto her side, propping herself up on her elbow to look at her wife. “Remember when we said a child would be a good idea?” she asks quietly, smiling.

“We had no idea we’d have triplets,” Alex answers, which isn’t something anyone plans. “One child we said and look at us now.”

“You love our girls more than anything though,” Maggie points out, knowing her wife well enough.

“Yeah, I do,” Alex agrees, leaning in to kiss her wife. “Remind me again how I got so lucky to have you?”

“Some guy in high school was calling me names for being gay, you punched his nose for me and we’ve been in lesbians ever since,” Maggie answers.

“In lesbians,” Alex repeats, snorting.

Maggie leans her body on top of Alex’s, kissing her. She’s happily married and she can’t ever imagine her life without her wife and their daughters.

“We should probably get up before they raid our kitchen,” Alex mumbles, as much as she’d love to stay in bed longer. “I don’t want to repeat that milk incident.”

“Oh god, don’t remind me,” Maggie replies, sighing as she turns to get up. Their daughters used to have a goldfish, until they filled his bowl with milk because they thought he would be thirsty.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Kara is eating breakfast with Lucy and Astra who came over when her ears pick up on commotion in her neighborhood. Arguments and such can happen all the time at any place, but she hears a door being yanked open so roughly she can hear the hinges protest. She frowns and puts her toast down.

“What do you hear, mommy?” Lyra asks curiously, listening in now as well.

“Nothing good,” Kara answers, frowning deeply when a door slams shut in the distance, accompanied by muffled sounds.

Astra who had been helping Apollo with his breakfast freezes. The spoon she held drops and clatters onto the floor.

Kara’s jaw goes slack at the loud scream, which humans can probably hear as well, that’s how loud it is. It’s unmistakingly the sound of a child in distress.

_“Mama!!”_

Kara works her jaw and gets up from the table, quickly spinning into her super suit. “I’ll be right back,” she says, knowing that her aunt and Lucy will watch over Lyra and Apollo.

“No! Mama, help me!”

Kara lands in front of the man who is holding a little girl in his arms, who is desperately trying to escape his grip. At first sight, she assumes this man is a kidnapper who is trying to abduct that child. What a fool for doing so in her neighborhood, practically her street even. “Put that child down, now,” she says lowly.

“Supergirl.”

Kara looks at the child who is close to tears, who said her name like a desperate plea. “Let her go,” she says to the man. “Right now,” she demands.

“Larissa is my daughter!” the man shouts in response. “I am taking her with me and you cannot stop me, Supergirl.”

Kara sees that the little girl looks mortified, which is not a good sign. She can’t quite interfere when it comes to families, but it doesn’t seem right to let that man take that child with him. The man looks like a mean brute and she’s worried for the little girl’s safety, especially because the child is crying now.

“I have a restraining order!”

Kara whips her head around because she knows that voice. Oh Rao, there’s no way she could ever forget that voice. She clears her throat, gathering herself because she is Supergirl right now and that child needs her help. “Put the child down, now,” she says to the man, taking a step towards him. “Honor the restraining order or I shall restrain you myself.”

Larissa runs up to her mother the second her father puts her down. Tears are streaming down her cheeks when she hugs her mother.

“Do not come back here,” Kara warns the man. She watches him get into a car and drive away. When she faces Lena, she sees that there’s a cut in her forehead and her nose is bleeding.

“I was so scared, mama,” Larissa whispers, shaking like a leaf.

“I know, my little darling,” Lena whispers, stroking her daughter’s hair. “I’m so sorry.”

Kara crouches down in front of Lena and the little girl. “You’re hurt,” she says softly, studying her ex’s face.

“I’m okay, K- Supergirl,” Lena replies, swallowing thickly.

“Let me get you cleaned up,” Kara says, scooping Lena into her arms.

“Thank you, Supergirl,” Larissa says as she follows the hero who is carrying her mother into their house. “My daddy is a mean man.”

Kara puts Lena down on the kitchen table and rushes to wet a washcloth to dab lightly at the blood. “He hit you,” she says quietly to her ex.

“I left him, but he’s not letting us go,” Lena whispers, worried for her daughter’s safety. “I promised my daughter I would keep her safe and I…” She has to close her eyes to avoid crying.

Kara is shocked to see Lena again after ten years and to learn that she has a daughter. She didn’t even know that her ex would be into men because in the past Lena confided in her that she’s always known she likes girls. “His behavior is not your fault, Miss Luthor,” she says calmly.

Lena sighs deeply and hisses when Kara dabs at her wound. “I know it’s been ten years,” she whispers, to keep their conversation private, “but you can still call me Lena.”

 


	3. Chapter 3

Kara has Apollo on her hip and a fresh batch of cookies in a plastic container in her hand, to welcome their new neighbors. Perhaps it’s somehow an excuse to reconnect with Lena, to be friends, though she thinks it could be nice for Lyra. From what she’s been told during the few minutes she spent with her ex as Supergirl, she heard that Larissa is seven years old, only one year older than her daughter.

“I can’t wait to meet her,” Lyra whispers happily. “Do you think she will be my friend, mommy?”

“We will see, sweetie,” Kara answers as they reach Lena’s door. “You can knock.”

Lyra balls her fist and knocks on the door, the way her mother taught her to do without breaking the door.

Lena opens the door and frowns at the sight of Kara with two children. “Hello,” she says briefly.

“Hey, we wanted to welcome you to our neighborhood,” Kara replies with a bright smile. “We baked you cookies,” she says, holding the plastic container out to Lena.

“Thank you,” Lena says politely as she accepts the plastic container. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“It’s no problem,” Kara insists. “This is my daughter, Lyra, she is six,” she says, proudly introducing her daughter. “And this little guy here is my son, Apollo. He is two years old.”

Lena’s eyes widen at the knowledge that Kara has children and she assumes they could be her biological children, from the looks of them. Lyra is like a younger copy of her ex. There’s no doubt they are related. It would have been wishful thinking if she would have thought Kara would be single. Of course her ex has her own family, which Kara has always deserved to have.

“Hello,” Larissa says, slipping past her mother to look at the strangers.

“Hi, I’m Lyra,” Lyra replies, sticking her hand out to Larissa. “Do you want to be my friend?”

“Can I, mama?” Larissa asks, looking up at her mother for permission.

“Yes, my little darling,” Lena answers, smiling encouragingly at her daughter. It’s kind of Kara to show up at her door with her children to befriend her daughter. Lyra is Larissa’s first friend.

“Friends,” Larissa says to Lyra, shaking her hand. “You have a strong grip,” she says, frowning when she pulls her hand back.

“Did I hurt you?” Lyra asks worriedly. She looks at her mother with wide eyes. “I was being careful, mommy, I promise.”

“Would you like to come over sometime?” Kara asks Lena with a cautious smile. “Our daughters could play together,” she says quickly, to reveal her motives.

“Wait until you meet Lilith,” Lyra says to Larissa. “Lili is my best friend.” She frowns when Larissa looks down. “But… you could be my best friend, too.”

Larissa looks back up and smiles.

“That would be lovely,” Lena says to Kara, accepting her offer.

Kara hopes that perhaps they can catch up a bit because she’s curious what Lena has been up to over the past ten years. “If you ever need someone to watch Larissa, my aunt often babysits Lyra and Apollo,” she offers her ex, knowing that Astra would keep Larissa safe. “I’m sure she won’t mind.”

“I appreciate your offer,” Lena replies with a small smile. She may take Kara up on it, considering that despite having severed her ties with her family, she’s the rightful new owner of L-Corp, which she shall be running. “Thank you, Kara.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Hello, child,” Astra says to Larissa, adapting a friendly smile. Her niece didn’t need to ask her twice to watch over Lena’s child, considering she heard what took place on the street that one particular morning with Larissa’s aggressive father. She does not tolerate a parent hurting their child, or anyone ever hurting a child really. If that man dares to even set foot here, she will break his hand.

Larissa gazes upwards at the formidable woman. “Hello, ma’am,” she replies politely, minding her manners as her mother taught her.

“My name is Astra,” Astra says, seeing no need for such formalities.

Lyra smiles and grabs one of Larissa’s hands. “Lilith is here, too,” she says, happy that her two friends are both here now. “We’re going to have so much fun. I’ll show you my dolls.”

Larissa doesn’t go to school because her mother always homeschooled her and she wonders if Lyra and Lilith are homeschooled as well.

Lena holds her breath as Larissa walks away with Lyra to play with dolls. It means a lot to her that Kara has offered Astra could babysit her daughter and she’s happy for Larissa that she gets to have friends. Her ex is an amazing woman, showing so much kindness despite the fact that she rejected her ten years ago and the fact that she’s a Luthor.

Astra takes a pen and scribbles her number down on a piece of paper. “My phone number,” she says, holding the paper out to Lena. “If you are concerned or want to hear how Larissa is doing, you may phone me.”

“Thank you,” Lena replies, pocketing Astra’s number. “I really appreciate this,” she says sincerely. She could have searched for a babysitter, though this is much safer for her daughter. Even though she doesn’t know Astra personally, it’s far better to let a Kryptonian watch Larissa rather than a human who could easily be overpowered by her daughter’s father.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Kiera!”

Kara gets up from behind her desk to rush into her boss’ office. “Yes, Miss Grant?” she asks politely.

“Cancel my dinner plans with my mother,” Cat says, folding her hands together. “My son’s teacher wishes to see me tonight and considering I am canceling on my mother I need an appointment with my therapist for the frustrating phone call I am about to receive. Get Witt to have a look at the computers, there seems to be some type of virus.”

“Winn hasn’t worked here in five years, Miss Grant,” Kara reminds her boss. “He has a job elsewhere,” she says, surprised that Cat hasn’t even noticed. Winn got hired by J’onn at the DEO five years ago, due to his skillset.

“Well don’t just stand there waiting for the grass to grow,” Cat replies with a frustrated tone. “Find me a new IT guy, pronto. Today,” she demands.

“I’ll try,” Kara says, considering someone like that won’t fall out of the sky.

“Try harder, I need that guy,” Cat insists. “Today, an hour ago,” she says sternly.

Kara nods and decides she will go through old files of people who applied at Catco to see if one of them can do what Winn used to do. She has the odd job of being Cat’s assistant slash reporter, the former mostly because her boss kept firing each replacement she got, which is why she juggles both.

“One more thing, Kiera,” Cat says before Kara can walk away. “I need you to get an exclusive from Lena Luthor. Rumor has it she is in National City to run L-Corp.”

Kara can’t believe that she’s already tasked to do that on Lena’s first day on the saddle as CEO of L-Corp, though she knows that Miss Grant prefers to stay ahead of things. “Yes, Miss Grant,” she replies with a tightlipped smile. Great, now she has to find a new IT guy, interview her ex, and hope that the city won’t need her as Supergirl for the next two hours or so.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lena has her phone clutched in her hand, listening to her daughter talk about how she is trying to teach Lyra and Lilith how to play chess. She couldn’t resist calling Astra to hear how Larissa is doing, even though she’s only been in her office for an hour. It makes sense to her now who Superwoman is. In the past she could have only guessed who National City’s other hero was, though it was always clear it was a Kryptonian.

There’s a knock on the door, causing Lena to sigh into the phone.

“I’ll call you back later, my little darling,” Lena promises. “I need to work now. Have fun with your friends, okay?” She smiles and hangs up.

“Enter,” Lena calls out, clasping her pen as she prepares for business.

“Miss Luthor,” Jess says as she walks in. “Miss Danvers from Catco is here to see you.”

“Send her in,” Lena replies, having expected reporters would begin to show up.

Kara walks in and closes the door behind her. “Lena,” she says, stepping closer towards Lena’s desk.

“Hello, Kara,” Lena replies calmly, gesturing at the chair in front of her desk. “I presume you are here for an interview.”

“Yes,” Kara confirms. “If you can spare some time so I can ask a few questions that would be great.”

“I suppose I do have time for an old… friend,” Lena says, choosing her words carefully. “Especially after you helped stop Larissa’s father from taking her,” she adds thoughtfully. She owes Kara at least this much, and more really, for having offered Astra as a babysitter for her daughter. “Though I would appreciate it if no word is mentioned about him in the article,” she says, not wanting her private life to be out in the open like that. It would be bad publicity if Jack would be mentioned.

“I won’t print anything you don’t wish to have printed,” Kara assures Lena. She knows better than anyone what it’s like to keep secrets that can’t be revealed.

Lena frowns slightly as Kara reveals a pen and a notepad, apparently not bothering with a recorder. She keeps her expressions as neutral as possible when her ex looks at her.

“What do you aim to accomplish with your company?” Kara asks, holding her pen ready to start writing rapidly.

Lena answers Kara’s eager questions, admiring the passion with which her ex implores about her company and her plans in regards of developing new technology. The only one who she has ever seen move a pen that fast to write is Kara and she can’t help but wonder if her ex is aware that her speed does not look human.

“Oh Rao,” Kara whispers when she realizes two hours have passed. She has yet to find an IT guy for Miss Grant and right now she’s hungry because it’s lunchtime. “I’m sorry I took up so much of your time,” she apologizes.

“Not at all,” Lena replies, feeling unbothered by that fact. She does have a lot of work cut out for her, though it’s no issue for her to make time for Kara.

“You must be hungry,” Kara says, assuming given it is lunchtime. “Would you be interested to have lunch at Noonan’s?” she asks, wanting to make sure Lena eats a proper meal and wanting to make up for the time she stole from her.

Lena wants to say that she can’t and remain at her office to bury herself in work, though Kara is smiling so sincerely at her that she can’t find the strength to say no. “Lunch sounds lovely,” she answers, pushing her chair back. “I just need to grab my coat.”

Kara fishes her phone out of her pocket, sending a pleading text to Winn to ask him if he can please go see what that virus is about which Miss Grant mentioned, even though he doesn’t even work for her. She attaches a bunch of emojis to her text and that she owes him after this. Winn is a good friend of her who is like family. She sighs in relief when he replies within seconds, letting her know he will fix it. Maybe this will keep her boss good for a few more years before she randomly asks Winn to fix something again.

Lena catches Kara smiling at her phone before her ex puts her phone away. It’s possible that Kara was texting her partner, though it’s not her business. Perhaps a part of her had hoped her ex would have been single, but it’s been ten years and her life is too much of a mess to bring Kara too close into it.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, this is totally weekly or biweekly.


	4. Chapter 4

Maggie enters Astra’s house with the spare key she has and her daughters in tow. Having keys of each other’s houses comes in handy at times. “Hey,” she says, spotting Astra in the living room.

“Hello, Maggie,” Astra replies, already having heard Maggie and the triplets before they even entered her house.

“Look um, I know you’re already babysitting four children,” Maggie begins, aware that Astra is babysitting Lyra, Apollo, Lilith and Larissa. “But I got called into work, so I was wondering if you can watch Jamie, Riley and Molly.” Asking someone to babysit seven children at once is rather crazy and her triplets are quite the handful on their own, though Astra can probably handle it because she’s great with kids. Normally, Larissa isn’t here and Lilith is only here sometimes, so it seems to be a full house today.

“I can watch them anytime,” Astra says, truly not minding it. Watching her family’s children feels as if she has children of her own.

“Thanks, Aunt Astra. You’re a lifesaver,” Maggie replies, appreciating it. She only calls Astra her aunt sometimes and it’s something that began several years ago when Astra had said she didn’t mind being Alex’s aunt and her aunt as much as she’s Kara’s aunt. Having family feels good, especially considering her own parents kicked her out as a teenager for being gay and the aunt she was sent to live with passed away before she even fully made her way through college.

Astra grasps Apollo’s ankle just as he’s about to fly up to the ceiling to stop him.

Maggie chuckles at the sight of Astra holding Apollo as if he’s a balloon that’s trying to fly up. “Okay, I have to bounce now,” she says, needing to hurry to check in at work. “I’ll be back tonight, but Alex might get here before I do,” she says, unsure. Her wife’s hours are even more unsteady and more random than hers.

Astra nods and quickly pulls Apollo down to hold him when she hears Lyra, Lilith and Larissa descending the stairs. They had been upstairs to play, though they must have gotten bored. Larissa doesn’t know that Lyra, Apollo and she are Kryptonian while Lilith is a meta-human.

“I’m hungry,” Lyra says, looking at Astra expectantly.

“Watch your brother,” Astra replies, handing Apollo over to Lyra. “I shall make some food.”

Larissa gasps when flowers grow out of the palm of Lilith’s hand. “How did you do that?” she asks, bewildered.

“I’m special, but you can’t tell anyone,” Lilith answers, letting Lyra and Larissa each take a flower. “Can you keep a secret, Larissa?”

Larissa nods with wide eyes.

Astra shakes her head at Lilith revealing her secret to Larissa and hopes Lyra does not plan to do the same. Telling people secrets is risky, especially when it comes down to children who could so easily tell others.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lena skims through the menu card, even though she will probably order a salad or something else that’s light to digest. She can see Kara fidgeting with her glasses and her hands, as if she wants to say or ask something. “How have you been?” she asks, being the one to break the silence.

“Mostly fine, I suppose,” Kara answers, because some things were good while other things weren’t good at all. “What about you?” she asks in turn, though it sounds like a dumb question. She already knows now that Lena’s husband or ex-husband or whatever is not a good man.

“Let’s see,” Lena answers. She smiles bitterly. “My family practically wants to disown me and Larissa’s father is a tyrant who seems to refuse to leave us alone. He never loved our daughter or me and he acts as if we are his property. In a nutshell, I’ve been peachy.”

“I’m sorry,” Kara replies, feeling for Lena and Larissa that they are dealing with such a person. “You and Larissa deserve better.”

“Sometimes I wish Jack would have simply left,” Lena muses sadly. “It would have been better.”

Kara casts her eyes down, memories flashing through her mind from how Mon-El abandoned her children and her, which was rough. Having a violent husband doesn’t sound like a picnic either, but she’s not sure if a parent abandoning their children is truly that much better. Neither is good, in fact.

Lena picks up on the pain written on Kara’s face. “Did I say something wrong?” she asks with a hint of concern. It is never her intention to hurt her ex, even though she did ten years ago, but that was to protect Kara and shield her from deeper pain.

“It’s nothing,” Kara answers, waving her hand with a small smile on her face.

“I can’t say I’m convinced,” Lena replies, noticing that after ten years, Kara is still a terrible liar. “I’d rather not say something that causes you harm,” she says, her voice soft and sincere.

“I was married up until two years ago,” Kara confesses with a sad sigh. “Mon-El left a week after Apollo was born and I never heard anything from him since.”

“Oh god,” Lena whispers, understanding now why Kara had looked so hurt. “I apologize for having stirred up such a memory,” she says, not having wanted to make her ex remember painful things.

“It’s okay, you didn’t know,” Kara replies, not blaming Lena for what she said.

“It sounds like you and I could both use a drink,” Lena says, definitely needing one or two. She is shocked that someone actually ditched Kara, Lyra and Apollo like that. That Mon-El guy must have truly been an idiot to walk out on such a beautiful family.

Kara is confused why Lena rejected her proposal ten years ago and why her ex was together with such a violent man. After ten years she still wonders why Lena said no, but it might seem silly if she’d ask now. Sometimes humans have brief relationships that never get serious, though she wouldn’t call three years a brief relationship.

Lena sighs when she has a glass of red wine in her right hand, reminiscing about the past. She can see the obvious frown on Kara’s face and the crinkle between her eyebrows atop her nose. Perhaps after all those years, her ex wonders why she said no. 

“If you ever want to talk about something, I’m here,” Kara offers, smiling cautiously. It sounds like a hidden way to ask Lena to tell her why she said no ten years ago, though that’s not quite it. She can see that her ex has been going through a lot and if Lena needs a friend, she’ll be around.

Lena nods and sips from her wine, deciding not to break into that yet. Everything has been overwhelming enough as it is and they both obviously have had their pain in relationships. She doesn’t want to burden Kara with all of her issues; especially not given her ex is carrying enough on her shoulders already.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Mama, why are stepparents always evil in stories?” Larissa asks curiously.

“Why are you asking, sweetheart?” Lena asks in turn, wondering why her daughter is suddenly curious about that.

“Astra was reading fairytales today and in every single one, the stepmother was evil,” Larissa answers, chewing on her bottom lip. “Are stepparents evil in reality, too?”

“Not necessarily,” Lena answers, considering not all stepparents are bad. Some stepparents love their step children as if they are their own blood.

“But grandmother is mean,” Larissa comments. “You have an evil stepmother,” she points out, scrunching her nose up. “I hope I won’t have an evil stepparent someday.”

Lena would never enter a relationship with someone who would be mean towards her daughter. If she ever has a relationship with someone again, she will make sure it is someone who is kind to Larissa. Her daughter is her priority and it’s a deal breaker if someone isn’t gentle with Larissa.

“Can we play chess after dinner, mama?” Larissa asks, already having gathered her chessboard.

“Yes, my little darling,” Lena answers, turning back to their food on the fire. “You’ve been getting better at it,” she says, having noticed recently that Larissa doesn’t lose that quickly anymore. Her daughter takes a lot after her and very less after her father, thankfully.

Larissa has raven hair and eyes that are greener than her mother’s. She often ties her hair in a ponytail to copy her mother.

There’s a beat of silence.

“How did daddy find us so fast?” Larissa implores.

Lena can only guess that they must have been followed when they left her mother’s house. She thought she had been careful, but apparently she hadn’t been careful enough. It’s good that Kara had shown up as Supergirl so Larissa’s father couldn’t take her away. “I think he followed us,” she answers, worried that her daughter will be terrified again.

“Is he going to come back?”

Lena had the locks changed, but she knows that with Larissa’s father that doesn’t make a difference. “He is never going to take you away,” she promises.

“This city is better,” Larissa says, nuzzling her head against her mother’s side. “Supergirl and Superwoman protect people. If daddy comes back they will stop him, like Supergirl did.”

“That’s right, my little darling,” Lena agrees, relieved that National City has two heroes like that. Another relief is that they’re not being spat out for being Luthors.

“Is Astra going to babysit me again tomorrow?” Larissa asks curiously. “I like Lyra and Lilith, they’re kind to me.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lyra rests her chin in her hand with her elbow on the kitchen table while her other hand is moving her fork around. She smiles dreamily and sighs softly.

Kara raises an eyebrow to see that Lyra isn’t digging into her food like her daughter usually would do. “Did you have a good day, sweetie?” she asks, smiling at Lyra.

“The best,” Lyra answers, smiling impossibly brighter.

Kara is happy to hear that Lyra had such a good day. “Tell me about your day,” she says, curious to hear all about it. She knows her aunt had quite the full house, watching seven children and she assumes the children played a lot.

Apollo pushes as many peas as he can into his mouth and smiles at his mother.

“Don’t forget to chew, my little man,” Kara says to her son. She shovels a forkful of peas into her mouth when Lyra says something that causes her to half-choke on said peas.

“Lilith is my girlfriend,” Lyra announces cheerfully. “I like her and she likes me, so I asked her and she said yes,” she explains happily.

Kara empties her mouth and stares at her daughter. “I thought Lilith is your best friend, sweetie,” she replies, unsure of how to handle her six year old announcing that she has a girlfriend.

“She’s still my best friend, mommy,” Lyra says with a duh tone. “But now she’s also my girlfriend. We’re in lesbians like Auntie Maggie and Auntie Alex.”

“Oh Rao,” Kara whispers, really wishing that Maggie would stop teaching her daughter stuff like that. Maggie and Lucy can both be quite the influence on Lyra to teach her things she doesn’t want her daughter to know yet. She wants to be supportive and sexuality doesn’t matter, but Lyra is six and she’d rather not hear her mentioning a relationship for at least ten more years.

“What do you think being girlfriends means?” Kara asks cautiously. “What do girlfriends… do?”

“Lili and I hug each other a lot,” Lyra answers, grinning. “She gives me flowers all the time.”

Kara breathes out in relief. Okay, hugs and flowers are innocent, phew.

“Oh!” Lyra says suddenly, sticking her index finger up. “Lili kissed me today. Her lips are so soft, mommy.”

Kara’s fork comes down so hard on her plate that her plate breaks in half. Okay, deep breaths, deep breaths. Don’t freak out, don’t freak ou- “She kissed you!?” she asks, her voice far too loud. “I mean,” she says, lowering her voice and relaxing a bit when she sees that Lyra looks at her in shock. “Um, you’re a bit young to…” She pauses when her daughter’s bottom lip trembles. Oh no, not the tears. Please not the tears.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kara took the news so well. :)


	5. Chapter 5

“Shh, it’s okay,” Maggie whispers, putting Lyra on her lap. “What’s making you so sad, munchkin?” she asks her niece, who had ran to her house all of the sudden in the middle of dinner.

“I think mommy is mad at me,” Lyra answers, sniffling as she looks at her aunt.

Maggie tucks a lock of Lyra’s hair behind her ear. “Why do you think she would be mad at you?” she asks gently.

“I told mommy Lili is my girlfriend,” Lyra explains, wiping at her tears with her sleeves. “Lili kissed me today and I told mommy her lips are soft and then mommy shouted at me.” Her lip quivers and more tears fall. “Mommy never shouted at me like that before.”

Maggie can only assume that Kara raised her voice out of shock, not due to actually being angry. “I’m sure she didn’t mean to do that, baby,” she replies, wrapping Lyra into a hug. “Your mommy is probably very, very surprised that you have a girlfriend now. Usually people are a bit older and taller than you are when they have a girlfriend or a boyfriend.”

“Mommy broke her plate,” Lyra whispers, burying her face in Maggie’s neck.

“How about you and I go talk with your mommy now?” Maggie suggests as she rubs Lyra’s back. “Would that be better?”

Lyra nods and clutches her hands onto her aunt’s plaid shirt.

Maggie gets up from her couch with Lyra in her arms. “I’ll be back in a bit,” she says to her wife who is seated at their kitchen table with their daughters.

“Take your time,” Alex replies, having overheard parts of their conversation.

Maggie almost walks right into Kara when she opens her front door and she’s quite sure little Danvers has heard every word of what’s been said.

Kara has Apollo balanced on her hip. She feels bad for the way she reacted to Lyra when her daughter had been so happy to share the news. “Hey, sweetie,” she says to Lyra, reaching her free arm out for her daughter. “I’m sorry I shouted at you,” she apologizes.

“Are you still mad, mommy?” Lyra asks when she lets her aunt go so her mother can hold her.

“I was never mad at you,” Kara answers, not finding it in her heart to be anything remotely close to angry. “Your news was very surprising to hear.”

“Okay, mommy,” Lyra whispers, ceasing her sniffles. “Can Lili sleep over tonight?”

Kara knows that Lilith has slept over before and her daughter slept over at Lilith’s place a few times, but now it’s kind of different. Then again, if she would suddenly forbid it then she would send a wrong signal and they’re just little kids. “Yes, she can,” she answers, sighing as she holds her children a bit tighter.

Maggie nods slowly at Kara before she closes her front door to join her family at the table again.

“All better?” Alex asks her wife.

Maggie leans down and kisses Alex briefly until their triplets start with their eww sounds. “Yeah,” she answers, smiling as she sits down next to her wife.

“You’re pretty amazing, you know,” Alex says, finding that it needs to be said. “You’re good with kids.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Larissa moves the black chess piece, smiling when she takes down one of her mother’s white chess pieces.

“Good eye,” Lena compliments her daughter. She moves one of her chess pieces, glancing at the board to plan out how she can win. She’s much better at chess than Larissa is, though she’s also much older and her daughter is doing very well for her age.

Larissa bites her bottom lip before making her next move.

If Lena would let Larissa go to school, she knows for a fact that her daughter can skip several grades, but she can’t let Larissa go. School is too risky because then Jack or even her mother might randomly pick her daughter up and she can’t have that. Larissa’s father is so twisted that it wouldn’t surprise her if he’d try to leave the country with her daughter.

Jack has always had issues, ever since Lena met him. He believes he is oh so charming, but he really isn’t. He drinks too much and quickly becomes violent. It’s crazy that Jack would even want Larissa now when he never wanted her in the past. That much was clear when he tried to make her have a miscarriage.

“It’s your turn, mama,” Larissa says, frowning at her mother.

“Oh right,” Lena replies, snapping out of her thoughts.

“Can I take some of my toys to Astra’s place tomorrow?” Larissa asks sweetly. “I want to show my toys to Lyra and Lilith.”

“Of course you can, my little darling,” Lena answers as she makes her move on the chessboard.

“Lyra and Lilith kissed,” Larissa blurts out, fidgeting with her fingers. “Grandmother said girls can only be with boys,” she says quietly.

“Your grandmother is wrong,” Lena replies calmly. She is surprised to hear that Lyra and Lilith kissed, given their young age, but anyway. “Girls can be with girls and boys can be with boys. When you love someone, it doesn’t matter what they look like,” she explains, hoping to keep it simple.

“Grandmother said it is bla…” Larissa pauses and clicks her tongue. “She said a girl being with a girl or a boy being with a boy is blasphemy.”

Lena wonders when her mother has ever been religious because that woman might as well be a devil worshipper. “It’s not blasphemy,” she corrects. “Your grandmother has been teaching you lies,” she says, wishing her mother wouldn’t have tried to brainwash her daughter.

“Okay, mama,” Larissa replies, sighing.

“How did you feel when Lyra and Lilith kissed?” Lena asks, halting their game to concentrate on their conversation. She’s curious to hear if her daughter thought it was gross or okay or something else. It would hurt if Larissa would grow up to be homophobic.

Larissa looks down at her hands which are now in her lap. “Do you promise you won’t be mad at me?” she asks, looking up at her mother then.

“I promise,” Lena answers with a gentle tone. “You never have to be afraid to tell me something, my little darling.”

“When they kissed I smiled at them and…,” Larissa explains, taking a deep breath. “And I held my thumb up because they look really cute together.”

“That was kind of you, sweetheart,” Lena says approvingly. “Come here,” she says, holding her arms open to hug her daughter.

Larissa gets up from her seat and bites the inside of her cheek. “You’re really not mad?” she asks, as if she expects her mother to get angry because she had smiled when Lyra and Lilith kissed.

“Not at all,” Lena answers as she hugs Larissa. “I’m proud of you.”

“I love you, mama,” Larissa replies, hugging her mother tighter.

“And I love you,” Lena says, smiling at her daughter. “All the way to the moon and back, and to the moon again.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Let it go, let it gooooo,” Lyra sings loudly, trying to be in sync with the movie and with Lilith.

“I’ve made some popcorn,” Kara says, handing the bowl over to her daughter and to Lilith.

“Elsa is making things again, mommy,” Lyra says, pointing at the screen.

Kara isn’t surprised that Lyra and Lilith chose to watch Frozen because they always select a magical movie considering they view themselves as magical as well. It’s sweet to see their faces full of awe at all the magic.

“Snow, mommy,” Apollo mumbles. He flies up to the screen and makes grabby hands as if he wants to try and pull Elsa out of the screen.

“Yes, I see, my little man,” Kara says, looping an arm around her son to pull him back a bit. She already had Apollo ruin four televisions so far and she’s not up for having to buy a new one again. The fact that her children and she herself included eat so much takes a big chunk out of her budget, which means she doesn’t quite have the means to keep replacing what her son destroys.

Lyra opens her mouth so Lilith can feed her popcorn.

“I’m going to put Apollo to bed,” Kara says, because it’s getting late and her son should get some sleep. “When the movie is done, it’ll be bedtime for you two as well.”

“Yes, mommy,” Lyra replies, nuzzling against Lilith.

The front door opens and Lucy walks in.

“Hey,” Lucy says to Kara, stretching her arms out for Apollo. “J’onn called. He needs you and Astra, so I’m here to watch the kids,” she explains.

Kara nods and hands her son over to her best friend. “Lyra and Lilith need to go to bed when their movie is done,” she instructs, not wanting them to stay up too late. “I love you,” she says to Lyra and Apollo.

“Awe, I’m touched,” Lucy says teasingly.

“Love you too,” Kara replies, rolling her eyes at her best friend.

Lucy walks over to the couch to sit down with Apollo on her lap. “So, which movie are we going to watch after this one?” she asks the girls.

“I heard that!!” Kara calls through the front door.

“That wasn’t very bright,” Lyra says to Lucy. “You know my mommy has super hearing.”

“True,” Lucy agrees, grinning. “I should have waited at least five minutes.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Supergirl,” J’onn says when Kara walks in. “A parasite has been spotted.”

Kara puts her hands on her hips as Winn shows a recording that’s been made of said parasite. She dislikes parasites because they always seem to need to be killed in order to be stopped.

“Superwoman, your task is to keep the civilians out of harm’s way,” J’onn instructs.

Astra purses her lips and offers J’onn a small nod. When she landed on earth she was a Fort Rozz criminal, though when she found her niece she redeemed herself and together they joined the DEO.

“Supergirl, your job is to stop the parasite,” J’onn commands.

“Yes, sir,” Kara replies with a strong nod. She smiles as she bumps her arm lightly against her aunt’s. “Stronger together,” she says, glad that she has Astra’s help to keep National City safe.

“El mayarah,” Astra confirms.

Kara flies off with her aunt directly on her heels to stop the parasite and limit the damage. Given the parasite seems to be in the middle of a busy street, she will try to see if she can lure him away to a less crowded place.

Astra touches down on the pavement and effortlessly catches a car the parasite threw, which was probably meant to hit the people on the sidewalk. “Get out of here,” she says to the people.

“Hey, parasite,” Kara says, drawing the parasite’s attention towards her. It’s good that this isn’t the first parasite she’s dealt with, which means that she has exactly what she needs to take it down.

The parasite jumps on top of Supergirl, slamming her down.

“Absorb this,” Kara says, grabbing the parasite’s hands. She holds the parasite in place, letting it absorb the energy sources she’s holding between their hands until the parasite combusts.

Astra puts the last few cars back in their rightful places.

“Jewel heist,” Kara whispers, hearing the alarm in the distance. With her x-ray vision she can see a few masked people trying to steal jewelry. It seems foolish that they even try when they know Supergirl and Superwoman keep an eye on this city. “I’ll stop the front of their car, you get the back,” she says to her aunt, knowing from experience that people often try to go backwards when she stops a car.

Astra nods and then they’re both off to do what they do best.

 


	6. Chapter 6

Lena spins her chair around when there is a knock on the glass door of her balcony. “You may enter,” she says, considering it is open and Kara merely has to slide it open to step inside.

Kara slides the glass door open. “Hi, Lena,” she says awkwardly, feeling a bit out of place to be less formal while she is clad as Supergirl.

Lena coughs at the smell of smoke. “Burning building?” she guesses, waving a hand in front of her face.

“Yes,” Kara answers with an apologetic tone. “Is it that bad?”

“You could do with a shower,” Lena answers in earnest, considering Kara asked.

“By all means, don’t spare my feelings,” Kara comments lightly. It’s meant as a joke of sorts, though it seems to fall flat, which must be due to the past they have. Ten years ago her feelings weren’t exactly spared, but at least she knew where she stood and knew that Lena didn’t want to have that kind of life with her.

Lena puts her pen down, feeling uneasy about what’s left unsaid between them. “Any particular reason you are here?” she asks, deciding to get to the point.

“I was wondering if you want to eat dinner at my place tonight,” Kara says, noticing how Lena raises an eyebrow. “Lyra asked me this morning if Larissa can eat dinner with us, so I figured I should ask you along,” she explains, assuming her ex might prefer it that way. Asking Lena along seems like the polite thing to do. Her daughter doesn’t know that they used to be together ten years ago for three years. All Lyra knows is that Lena and Larissa are new and that she’s befriending Larissa.

Lena thinks that Larissa would probably be thrilled to be invited over for dinner. Her daughter is already happy that she’s making friends and something like this could mean the world to Larissa. Perhaps Kara and she could be friends. They usually say exes can’t be friends unless they never truly loved each other or unless they never stopped loving each other, but it could be different for them. Ten years is quite a long time. Things have changed and it’s impossible for them to be who they were ten years ago.

“Dinner sounds swell,” Lena says, accepting the invite from Kara. She has to make sure to return the favor sometime, which is likely to happen considering her daughter is going to keep spending time with her ex’s daughter.

“Great,” Kara replies. She’s happy that Lena accepted because Lyra is going to be happy. “Tonight at six?” she asks, given her ex is a busy woman and six might be too early for Lena.

“Six it is,” Lena answers, picking her pen up to write it down.

Kara nods and nervously wrings her hands together. She wants to ask about the past, but it’s been ten years and she should let it go. It’s doubtful that Lena would even want to talk about it. Her ex said no and Lena is under no obligation whatsoever to explain why she said no back then, because then she might sound like Larissa’s father who according to Lena doesn’t take no for an answer. Not that she is anything like him given she’s not abusive and she very much assumes he is, but asking those things could make her ex feel uncomfortable.

Lena tilts her head to the side, unsure why Kara isn’t leaving yet. “Was there something else?” she asks, spurring her ex on to open her mouth and spit it out.

“Err, no,” Kara answers, dropping her hands. “I should go take a shower and get back to work,” she says as she steps towards the door.

“Kara,” Lena says abruptly.

Kara turns around with a frown on her face. “Yes, Lena?” she asks, feeling confused about Lena’s wide eyes.

“The balcony,” Lena answers, gesturing at Kara’s super suit.

“Oh right,” Kara replies, smacking her forehead. She flew in as Supergirl so she can’t quite walk out the door all of the sudden. “Hah, clumsy me,” she says, chuckling lightly.

Lena smiles as Supergirl flies away and she thinks that maybe Kara didn’t change that much after all, despite it having been ten years. It’s obvious that her ex is still an adorable dork. She sighs as her silly heart speeds up. “Don’t delude yourself,” she whispers, willing her heart to stop it.

There’s no way she would stand a chance with Kara when she turned her proposal down ten years ago. She cried many nights when she turned her ex down, but she had to do it. It’s all for the better, it’s always been for the better and honestly, Kara is better off without her.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lucy is swaying her hips as she walks into Astra’s house, listening to the music that’s playing through her ear buds. “Somethin' 'bout you makes me feel like a dangerous woman,” she sings aloud. “Somethin' 'bout, somethin' 'bout, somethin' 'bout you. Makes me wanna do things that I shouldn't. Somethin' 'bout, somethin' 'bout, somethin' 'bout. Nothing to prove and I'm bulletproof and – hey.”

“I doubt you are bulletproof,” Astra says, holding one of Lucy’s ear buds in her hand.

“I was having a moment here, you know,” Lucy replies, pulling her ear bud out of Astra’s hand. She tsks as she turns her music off. “So rude,” she says, pocketing her ear buds.

“You can dance, though you cannot sing,” Astra says, wishing that for a moment she wouldn’t have super hearing.

“Aw, you gave me a half compliment,” Lucy coos, patting Astra’s cheek. “Look at you making progress.”

Astra turns away so she can return to the children. “Enjoy it while it lasts,” she calls out over her shoulder.

Lucy sighs and trials after Astra. “One of these days, Star,” she whispers, letting her have this round.

“Your tune has been the same for years,” Astra points out. “You may want to reconsider your strategy.”

Lucy huffs and ignores the way Astra is teasing her. “Hey, kiddos,” she says to the children. “Playing chess, huh?” she asks, seeing that Larissa seems to be playing a game against Lyra.

“I am teaching Lyra how to play better,” Larissa answers. “She’s very smart for her age,” she says, impressed with her friend’s intelligence when Lyra is a year younger than her.

“Thank you,” Lyra says to Larissa, appreciating the compliment. “My mommy was a member of a science guild,” she shares proudly. She wants to babble more about that and about Krypton, but then she remembers she’s not supposed to tell Larissa because people can’t know about her.

Larissa’s eyes widen as she listens to Lyra. “Do you like science?” she asks curiously. “Because I love science and my mother loves it, too.”

“Science is interesting,” Astra says, smiling at the girls. Personally, she was in the military guild rather than the science guild, but that doesn’t diminish her interest in science.

“Hey, Star,” Lucy says, drawing Astra’s attention. “Do you want to make crazy science with me?” she asks teasingly. She grins because that reference will fly right over Astra’s head.

“You are a strange, hu- person,” Astra says, catching herself at the last moment. It would be odd to say human when Larissa is near.

Lucy shrugs and walks further to go see where Apollo is. That little cutie is going to be such a heartbreaker when he grows up. She is upstairs in the hall when a hand covers her mouth.

“Shush,” Astra whispers in Lucy’s ear. “Apollo is sleeping.”

Lucy pushes Astra’s hand away. “Was that really necessary?” she asks quietly.

“Yes,” Astra answers, having found it necessary to do that. “I did not want you to scream in this circumstance.”

Lucy turns around and crosses her arms, feeling like Astra is teasing her again. “Are you implying you want to hear me scream in a different situation?” she asks, amused.

“It can be entertaining when you scream during a horror movie,” Astra answers. Her lips curl into a small smile as Lucy slaps her arm. “I have seen you landing better punches.”

“I’m not particularly interested to break my hand,” Lucy replies, keeping her voice low. She knows she’d break her hand for sure if she’d punch Astra roughly. “It would be a shame if I’d break my hand. Think of all the things I wouldn’t be able to do.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lyra smiles when Larissa sits down next to her for dinner. She keeps an eye on her brother who is sitting in a high chair.

Kara hands the plates out, filled with potatoes, green beans and chicken.

Larissa’s eyes widen at the portions on each plate and the size of the mountain of food on Lyra’s plate.

Lena can see her daughter’s inner turmoil because Larissa has been taught not to leave the table until her plate is empty, though she is often milder when it comes to that and she knows for a fact that her daughter can’t eat the amount of food Kara gave her.

“Thank you, ma’am,” Larissa says politely to Kara.

“You can call me Kara,” Kara replies with a sweet smile. She can tell that Larissa is well mannered, much like Lena.

“Lili said there are more children in this neighborhood,” Lyra says, moving her fork around. “I hope I get to meet them.”

“With some time you will,” Kara replies, though she’s worried it wouldn’t be all that safe. Lilith already knows that they are different and she is different herself, but when it comes to others it can be a risk. She knows that she taught her daughter to be careful, though it concerns her.

Apollo tries to stuff a whole potato in his mouth and claps his hands together when he can hardly close his mouth around it.

“That’s not going to work, little man,” Kara says as she gently gets the potato out of her son’s mouth. She breaks the potato into pieces with his fork so Apollo can eat better.

“Plane, mommy,” Apollo says, throwing his fork at his mother.

Kara smiles and scoops some of his potatoes onto the fork. “Here comes the airplane,” she says, moving the fork around like a plane. She makes little noises, pretending to be the engine of an airplane.

Apollo coos and opens his mouth for his food.

Larissa stills the cutlery in her hands and stares at what Kara is doing with Apollo. Her mother used to do things like that sometimes when she was three, but then her father or her grandmother would get angry and say she’s not a baby.

Lyra guffaws when her plate is empty and Larissa hasn’t even eaten half of hers yet. “You’re a very slow eater,” she comments to her friend.

Lena wants to reach out to her daughter and hug all her pain away when she sees Larissa looking down sadly. Her daughter has been taught to eat slowly and to chew properly. She noticed that Lyra practically inhales her food, much like Kara does. Larissa seems to take Lyra’s comment as something negative.

“I’m sorry,” Larissa apologizes. She sighs and moves the fork in her hand. “I’ll try to eat faster.”

“You don’t have to eat faster, silly,” Lyra replies. She smiles at her friend, but when Larissa doesn’t smile back, she frowns.

“Hey, sweetie,” Kara says with a gentle tone. She wants to reach out and tilt Larissa’s chin up to look at her, but she decides against touching the little girl in case it triggers something bad. Not everyone welcomes sudden touches and she has no idea what Larissa might have been through. Instead she opts to crouch down next to the little girl. “I think I might have given you too much food, huh?”

Larissa’s eyes flick towards her mother, who nods at her. She swallows hard and turns to look at Kara. “A little bit,” she answers while putting the cutlery down.

“You don’t have to eat all of it,” Kara replies, not wanting Larissa’s stomach to hurt.

“Grandmother said wasting food is bad,” Larissa whispers, unsure what to do.

Kara quickly switches Larissa’s plate with Lyra’s plate, smiling as her daughter eagerly digs in what’s left of Larissa’s food. “Which food?” she asks with an innocent smile. “I don’t see any food. Nope, nothing here.”

Larissa’s jaw drops lightly as she stares at the empty plate that’s standing in front of her. She closes her mouth and smiles at Kara.

“You have your mother’s beautiful smile,” Kara says, noticing how much Larissa is like Lena. She’s surprised when the little girl hugs her out of the blue, though she only takes a split second to respond and bring her arms up around Larissa.

Lena is perplexed to see her daughter hugging Kara. Larissa usually never hugs someone unless it’s her and her daughter is generally uncomfortable when hugged by someone else.

 


	7. Chapter 7

“She watches Frozen often,” Kara quietly says to Lena while Frozen is playing. “Lyra loves the magic on screen.”

“It is rather magical,” Lena whispers, remembering that she used to be amazed by magic as well back when she was a child. “You’ve been very kind to Larissa. Thank you for that.”

“Your daughter is a sweet little girl,” Kara replies, unable to imagine not being kind to Larissa. From what she’s been observing, it’s as if kindness is a foreign concept for Lena and Larissa, as if they wouldn’t deserve it when they do deserve it.

“I’ve never seen her hug someone she barely knows,” Lena reveals, wanting Kara to know just how amazing that was. “She normally only hugs me,” she confesses.

“I love kids,” Kara whispers, because she really does. “Maybe she can sense that.”

Lyra giggles when Apollo snores lightly with his head in her lap. “Mommy, Apollo needs to sleep,” she says as she gently moves away.

Kara had been losing track of the time somewhere between dessert and watching the movie. “I’ll be right back,” she says while she scoops her son into her arms.

Apollo buries his face in his mother’s neck and clutches his hands in her hair.

“My brother is such a mother’s boy,” Lyra says when her mother disappears up the stairs. “He’s lucky he doesn’t know our father.”

“Is your daddy mean, too?” Larissa asks Lyra.

“My father left two years ago,” Lyra answers, sighing. “It’s not nice that your father is mean.”

“I wish my father would leave and never come back,” Larissa confesses.

Lena listens sadly as Larissa and Lyra talk about their fathers. It’s nice to know that they are bonding, though she wishes they would speak of happier things. She should take her daughter home when Kara is done putting Apollo to bed. It’s quite late and Larissa should get some sleep.

Lyra crawls over towards Lena and sits on her lap. “Does this hurt?” she asks curiously while she points her index finger at the cut on Lena’s forehead.

Lena is taken aback by Lyra sitting on her lap. Those blue eyes are looking at her in concern, much like Kara’s did on the day she received that cut. “No, it doesn’t,” she answers, because she barely feels it.

Lyra cups Lena’s cheeks, lightly squishing them as her expressions become more serious. She leans to whisper in her ear so Larissa won’t hear what she’s saying. “You will be safe in this city,” she whispers quietly.

When Kara is back downstairs, Lena quickly thanks her for dinner and leaves with Larissa.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Kara hangs up the phone with a sweet goodbye that makes her blood boil considering the person on the other end of the phone was being a complete jerk and yelled through the phone for no reason. Okay, maybe there was a reason given the person on the phone had an interview with Miss Grant, which ended up being scrapped right before publishing the new magazine, much to his dismay. She is only an assistant slash reporter, it’s not her call what’s being published and what isn’t.

Kara grabs her stapler and groans when it breaks. This is what she gets for feeling frustrated. That’s the tenth stapler she’s ruined this week and sadly that’s not even a new record. No, her record stands at no less than twenty-one ruined staplers, in a day. That was the day Mon-El left though, so it hardly counts. She remembers how back then she broke those staplers, two phones, those two being her personal cellphone and her phone from work, her coffee table, her kitchen table, the door of her refrigerator which she tore off clean when she ripped it open and every framed photograph with him in it.

“Your morning must have been awful, I presume,” Lena says, standing in front of Kara’s desk.

“Lena,” Kara splutters, surprised as she looks up at her ex. “I didn’t know you’re here,” she says, not having noticed until Lena spoke. “Wait, why are you here, at Catco?” she asks, shocked that her ex even left her office to come here.

Lena wonders if she should regret her decision because it sounds as if she isn’t welcome, but then the look on Kara’s face seems to soften, morphing into that friendly face she remembers all too well. “I wanted to thank you for the lovely dinner last night,” she answers as she hands a flower to Kara.

Kara grasps the flower. It has a fiery orange color and is covered by spots. There’s a strong sweet smell to it, which is pleasant. “You came all the way here just to thank me and to hand me a flower?” she asks, still feeling surprised.

“Yes and no,” Lena answers. “May I interest you in lunch?” she asks and immediately Kara’s stomach growls in response. “I’ll take that as a yes,” she says, chuckling.

“This flower is pretty,” Kara says, putting it down on her desk.

Lena has a feeling Kara doesn’t even know she gave her a tiger lily, let alone what it means. She hopes she’s not being too brazen by giving her ex a flower which means _I dare you to love me_. During dinner last night, old feelings were stirred awake, though it can’t quite count as having been stirred awake if she never stopped feeling for Kara in the first place. What she can’t say in words, she hopes to convey with flowers, even when it goes unnoticed. Her ex did love her and she was the one to relinquish what they had.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Don’t touch anything, baby,” Alex says to Riley as the walk in the DEO. “Everything here is very expensive.”

Riley’s hand slips away from her mother and she runs up to Winn. “What are you working on?” she asks with wide curious eyes.

Winn looks down at Riley. “Oh hey, I’m just working on stuff,” he answers.

“Agent Danvers, what is a child doing at the DEO?” J’onn asks with a gruff tone.

“She won’t break anything,” Alex assures J’onn. “I took her with me on a whim just this once because my wife is at the hospital with Jamie and Molly.”

“Oh my god,” Winn says, gasping. “Are they alright? What happened?”

“Maggie broke her left hand,” Alex answers, because Jamie and Molly are fine. “They clung to her, so I took Riley with me,” she explains, as if to say J’onn should be happy that she’s even here and that she didn’t bring all three of her children.

Riley runs further along, making grabby hands at everything she sees.

Alex has to rush after her four year old to make sure she doesn’t break or damage anything. Maggie was going to watch Molly, Jamie and Riley, but that changed when her wife broke her hand during work.

“Hey, little rugrat,” Lucy says when Riley runs up to her. “Do you want to watch your mommy train with me?”

Riley bobs her head excitedly.

“You’re going down, Luce,” Alex says, determined to kick her friend’s ass.

“Women keep telling me that,” Lucy replies with a smirk.

“I bet you’re wishing Astra would tell you that,” Alex quips.

“Training room, now,” Lucy says as she walks past Alex.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Mhmm, so good,” Kara moans, munching on some more potstickers. It’s nice that Lena still remembers how much she likes potstickers. Well, she likes food in general so there isn’t much that can be done wrong in that department.

“How do you feel about working for Cat Grant?” Lena asks curiously. She always knew Kara wanted to become a reporter, which is something her ex had been mentioning in college.

“I’ve always wanted to work for a powerful woman rather than a man,” Kara answers, feeling like she made the right decision. “Miss Grant is impressive because she built everything she has from scratch, began all the way at the bottom. Working for her is inspiring.”

“I read her autobiography a few years ago,” Lena replies, aware of what Cat Grant has accomplished. “She certainly is a powerful woman here in National City.”

“So are you, you know,” Kara points out, which is true. “There is an upcoming article of the five most powerful people here in National City and you’re going to be in it.”

Lena grasps her glass of wine, sipping from it. She didn’t invite Kara to lunch to talk about work, though it’s her fault for breaking into that topic. Small talk is often about business and she’s not good at having conversations that don’t involve work.

“Larissa is a sweet little girl, you’re doing a good job on raising her,” Kara compliments.

“I should have left Jack a lot sooner,” Lena says sadly. It was wrong how long she put up with him to keep her family satisfied. There is no way of ever truly satisfying her mother who always seems displeased with her in one way or another. “My mother fails to see reason. She doesn’t care that I never loved him.”

Kara frowns to hear Lena say she never loved Jack, considering her ex married him. She can’t grasp why Lena said no to her when they seemed be so in love and how her ex married that man. “You married someone you didn’t love?” she asks, her confusion taking the upper hand.

“I’m not quite sure if you’d understand,” Lena answers, but then she remembers what Kara used to tell her about Krypton. Maybe her ex might understand more than she thought, just maybe. “It was an arranged marriage. My mother promised my hand to him. I had no choice.”

Kara’s first instinct is to say that there is always a choice, but she swallows that thought before she can voice it. “Was that before or after…?” she asks, changing her mind. “Never mind,” she says, because she should let it go.

Lena can hear the question Kara is not quite voicing. “My mother informed me about the arranged marriage a few days before we broke up,” she confesses. She won’t blame Kara if she would get mad at her for not having told her. Ten years ago she wasn’t sure how to break the news and then Kara proposed all of the sudden, which is not how she meant to break up with her, but it was going to be painful either way.

“A few days,” Kara repeats, feeling a wave of hurt because Lena should have told her right away. “I see,” she says with a bite in her tone. If Lena had told her then she wouldn’t have proposed for nought. She knows what arranged marriages are like, considering back on Krypton all marriages were arranged ones, based upon compatibility.

Lena sighs quietly when Kara gets up. “I’m sorry,” she apologizes, not having wished for things to go this way.

Kara needs to get away to think and right now she doesn’t want to see Lena anymore. “When I proposed and you said no, I felt humiliated,” she confesses. “It hurts to know now that you knew you were going to marry someone else and you didn’t tell me. I have to go.”

Lena really hadn’t meant for things to go this way.

 


	8. Chapter 8

Astra’s eyes land on the bandage around Maggie’s hand the second she walks into her house. “What happened?” she asks, studying Maggie’s hand with her x-ray vision.

“I got caught up in a fight with a criminal,” Maggie answers, sighing. “I ended up breaking my hand.”

“Oh no,” Lyra says, walking into the living room. “Auntie Maggie, Lili can help you.”

“Yes,” Lilith confirms. “I’ll help,” she says, holding her hands out.

“You can trust her,” Lyra says to her aunt.

Maggie frowns when Lyra takes her bandage off and then Lilith is taking her broken hand in both of her hands. Her hand tingles and aches when Lilith’s hands glow. “Lilith, you shouldn’t do this,” she says, worried because Larissa is standing right next to them, observing it all.

“It’s okay,” Lilith assures Maggie. “Larissa knows I’m different.”

Maggie groans out in pain when she feels the bones in her hand resetting. “What are you doing?” she asks Lilith. She knows the little girl can do things with flowers and plants, but this is new to her.

“I’m healing your hand,” Lilith answers. “I can only heal a little bit,” she explains as her hands glow warmer. “If you’d break your arm I wouldn’t be able to heal you.”

The pain in Maggie’s hand lasts for about twenty seconds and when Lilith lets go off her hand, it’s like she never broke it in the first place. Even the scar she used to have on the back of her hand from a fight with a knife is gone. “Thank you,” she says to Lilith.

“You’re the best, Lili,” Lyra says, kissing her girlfriend’s cheek.

Astra smiles approvingly and according to her calculations, Lilith is an excellent match for Lyra. She turns towards her front door when she hears someone approaching. Upon using her x-ray vision, she sees it’s not family. “Maggie, take the children upstairs,” she commands.

“Yes, Aunt Astra,” Maggie replies obediently. She knows Astra is serious when she uses that tone. “Come, munchkins,” she says as she lifts Apollo up.

Astra waits a few seconds as Maggie goes upstairs with Apollo, Lyra, Larissa, Lilith, Molly and Jamie. The person is at her door now, knocking on it. She slowly opens her front door. “Yes?” she asks, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m here to pick up my granddaughter,” Lillian says with a demanding tone.

“Unfortunately, I do not know what you are talking about,” Astra replies coolly. She spots a car nearby with a man in it who is looking in her direction. “Pardon me, but who are you?”

“My name is Lillian Luthor,” Lillian answers, huffing. “Larissa is my granddaughter and I know she is here.”

“Neither one of those names rings a bell,” Astra says, playing dumb as humans would say it.

“You’re lying,” Lillian replies, glaring. “Jack has seen Larissa enter your house earlier today.”

“Perhaps you are slow to comprehend my words,” Astra says, composed as ever. “There is no Larissa in my house,” she says, speaking a lot slower this time.

“You can’t prohibit me from seeing my granddaughter,” Lillian says icily.

“Do you not speak English?” Astra asks, frowning at the woman’s stubbornness.

“I don’t know what Lena has told you, but you better hand Larissa over right now,” Lillian says, raising her voice. “Or else,” she threatens.

Astra is thoroughly amused to have this human threatening her, General Astra, known to this city as Superwoman. “You should consult a doctor for your condition,” she suggests.

A car door slams shut and then Jack is storming towards them.

Jack raises his fist to punch.

Astra sidesteps him easily, grabs his wrist and twists his arm behind his back, bringing him down onto his knees. “I served in the army,” she says stoically. “You do not wish to mess with me, boy.” She kicks her foot against his back to send him stumbling. “Leave now or I will phone the police.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Apollo coos when his mother fills the bathtub with bubbles and with his ducks. He slams his hand down in the water and splashes water at his mother.

“You little cutie,” Kara says as she grabs a towel. “Look at all the water on the floor. That’s not very nice is it?”

Apollo throws one of his ducks out of the bathtub. “For you, mommy,” he says, giving his mother a toothy smile.

“Shh, I’m supposed to be angry,” Kara replies, caving in under her son’s smile. It should be illegal how cute Apollo is because she can’t even be mad at him for two seconds.

Lyra sits down on the edge of the bathtub and looks up at her mother. “Larissa’s grandmother came to Astra’s house today,” she says to her mother. “And her father,” she adds.

“I see,” Kara says, hoping they didn’t cause any trouble. Surely, her aunt handled it, no doubt about that, but she doesn’t like them going to Astra’s place to look for Larissa.

“Her father tried to fight Astra,” Lyra says, having heard and seen what happened. “They’re really mean and they wanted Larissa.”

“They won’t get her,” Kara replies, knowing Lena has that restraining order.

“Lili healed Auntie Maggie’s hand today,” Lyra announces happily. “She made it all better!”

“That was very kind of Lilith,” Kara says, smiling at her daughter. It sounds like a nice power to have and it’s sweet that Lilith helped Maggie like that.

“Hey,” Lyra says when her brother throws a duck at her. “I’ll get you for that,” she says, moving to tickle Apollo.

Kara listens vaguely as her children giggle and play. She thinks back of her lunch with Lena and the sting of pain she felt when her ex revealed that she knew she was going to marry Jack, a few days before she proposed. Lena really should have told her right away about that rather than having stayed with her for a few more days. She would have understood it, despite the fact that it would have been painful, considering on Krypton marriages were arranged as well.

As far as Kara knows, arranged marriages are not exactly common here in National City and it didn’t seem to be common in Midvale either, though it does seem to exist for some. Lena could have spared her the humiliation of proposing for nothing. She used to think they had built something beautiful together. Once upon a time she loved Lena deeply and it took her a lot of time to get over her.

Even though for the time being Kara doesn’t want to be near her ex, it’s still okay for Larissa to be babysat by her aunt and of course that sweet little girl can still spend time with her daughter. It would be wrong to punish Larissa for what her mother did when she is an innocent child. She’s not that petty to go there.

“Mommy, can I have ice cream?” Lyra asks. She pokes her mother when her mother doesn’t respond. “Earth to mommy,” she says, waving her hand in front of her mother’s eyes.

“Hmm, what?” Kara asks, snapping out of her thoughts. “What is it, sweetie?”

“I asked if I can have ice cream,” Lyra answers, frowning at her mother. “Is something wrong, mommy?”

“Everything is okay,” Kara answers, not wanting her daughter to worry for her. “You can have some ice cream, but not a whole pint.”

“I’ll have half of the cookie dough and half of the chocolate fudge,” Lyra replies, chuckling as she flies down the stairs.

“You sneaky little…,” Kara whispers, smiling while she shakes her head. “Choose one, you can’t have both,” she calls out to her daughter.

“Why do you want me to starve, mommy?” Lyra asks from downstairs.

“Half a pint of ice cream and no more, Lyra Zor-El,” Kara answers, refusing to give in.

It’s silent for a moment, but then. “Three quarters?” Lyra tries.

“Alright,” Kara gives in, sighing because this is hopeless. “But only this one time,” she says, which she says almost every day.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lena is glancing at her daughter who has opened up her computer to put all the parts back together from scratch. Larissa inherited a lot from her, including her interest in technology, though Jack has an interest in technology as well. She can’t stop thinking about Kara and the hurt and disappointment that had radiated off of her. It was never her intention to make Kara feel humiliated.

There are things she never quite told her ex, such as how her mother would not have allowed her to be anything other than straight. It was toxic to grow up in such a household and she hopes to turn the page to start fresh. Perhaps she can let it be known that she is a lesbian, regardless of how hateful her family might react.

She should have told Kara the truth the moment she knew her mother was setting her up to marry Jack. It was her mistake to hold that information back from her and breaking up just as Kara proposed to her was the absolute worst. That day she felt like she was backed up against the wall, so she said no and they broke up. She couldn’t get it over her lips that she was going to marry someone else. Saying no to Kara seemed awful enough.

“Lyra said we can bake cookies tomorrow and decorate them,” Larissa says happily. “And Apollo makes lots of silly faces.”

“Maybe you can save me some cookies,” Lena replies, happy to hear her daughter talking about her friends.

Larissa nods enthusiastically and then goes back to putting the computer back together. “I wish I would have a sibling,” she says as she screws pieces together.

Lena doesn’t really have anything to respond to that. It’s not that she wouldn’t have wanted more children, but the idea of being intimate with Jack absolutely repulsed her and on top of that she was worried of what he might have done if she would have gotten pregnant again.

“Maggie is a lesbian,” Larissa says, wiggling her legs on the chair she’s sitting on. “She’s married with Alex. They’re Lyra’s aunts and they have triplets. I think they all look cute.”

Lena likes it that her daughter gets the chance to see healthy relationships. “How would you feel if I would tell you I like women instead of men?” she asks curiously, hoping that’s not too much for her seven year old little girl. Larissa is a bright child and she cares about her opinion.

Larissa drops the screwdriver and tilts her head to the side to look at her mother. “Really?” she asks with an extra high pitched tone and a smile on her face.

Lena had hoped her daughter would simply answer her question, but it seems like she has piqued Larissa’s curiosity. “Yes, really,” she answers, putting the truth in the open. “I have always been a lesbian.” It feels good that she can say that, can be herself and this wasn’t quite planned, but given the topic her daughter brought up she went with it.

“Good choice, mama,” Larissa replies, giving her mother a wide smile. “You should date Kara!” she shouts happily while she moves to stand up on her chair. “Then Lyra can be my sister!”

“Oh god,” Lena whispers, feeling like this is going in the wrong direction. It’s good that her daughter is okay with her being a lesbian, but that part about Kara is not good. She’d be lucky if her ex doesn’t hate her and the luckiest she can probably get is to be friends with Kara.

 


	9. Chapter 9

Lucy saunters inside Astra’s house, ready to help the children to bake cookies. She even brought some chocolate and other goodies that can be used to put on top of the cookies. “Hey, Star,” she says as she puts everything down on the table.

“Hello, Lucy,” Astra replies, frowning as Lucy rolls her sleeves up. “I thought you would have been at work,” she says, refraining from mentioning the DEO while Larissa is around.

“Nope, not today,” Lucy says with a big grin. “I’m here to help.”

“I’m making my cookies all in different shapes,” Lyra says while she pushes a shape in the dough.

“We can put chocolate sprinkles on them,” Lilith suggests.

“Chocolate,” Apollo coos.

Lucy chuckles and grabs a piece of chocolate to hand it to Apollo. “Here you go, little cutie,” she says sweetly. She melts when he eagerly pushes the piece of chocolate in his mouth because he’s just too damn adorable. “Sometimes I want to put you under my sweater and take you with me.”

“Lyra, can I ask you something?” Larissa asks quietly, whispering in Lyra’s ear.

“Yes,” Lyra answers, whispering.

“Is your mother a lesbian?” Larissa asks curiously.

Lyra frowns at Larissa’s odd question. “No,” she answers. Kryptonians don’t name sexualities in the way humans do, they could be with anyone they want, but she can’t tell Larissa that secret. “My mommy likes everyone,” she says thoughtfully.

Astra puts her hand on Apollo’s shoulder to keep him from flying up. She wonders why Larissa is inquiring if her niece would be a lesbian, unless it has to do with Maggie and Alex being together, and Lyra and Lilith being together.

“Why did you ask?” Lyra whispers in Larissa’s ear.

“My mama likes women,” Larissa answers earnestly, with her child-like innocence. “I told her she could date your mommy and then we could be sisters,” she admits, staring at her hands in shame. “I’m sorry, Lyra.”

Lyra sighs deeply, unsure if her father will come back or not, but her mother gets sad when she asks, so she stopped asking. “It is okay, Larissa,” she says softly. “I would love to have a sister and you would be a good sister.”

Lucy is confused when Lyra and Larissa hug and she saw they were having a conversation, but she didn’t hear it. “What did I miss?” she quietly asks Astra.

“Larissa wants her mother to date my niece,” Astra answers.

“Oh,” Lucy whispers, her mouth forming an o-shape. She knows Kara was rejected in the past by Lena when she proposed, but Larissa probably doesn’t know anything about that.

“I brought friends with me today,” Lilith says when said friends are at the door. “Is that okay?”

Lucy snorts when Astra just stands there, not saying anything. It seems a bit late for Lilith to ask now if it’s okay when her friends are already at the door. It’s a good thing that she’s here to help so Astra doesn’t have to babysit them all alone. “Relax, Star,” she whispers while patting Astra’s back. “I’m going to be here all day,” she says, knowing that the triplets will come over as well.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lena jumps up when her office door swings open and slams shut loudly. Her eyes widen when she sees Jack, who apparently rudely walked in and his flared nostrils are not a good sign.

“You have to stop your shenanigans,” Jack says with a frustrated tone in his voice. “You’ve had your fun, now you and Larissa need to come home.”

“Our home is here in National City,” Lena replies calmly. “We are not together anymore, Jack.”

“That’s a grief mistake,” Jack says, raising his fist.

“Listen, Jack, we should have never been married,” Lena says, feeling like it’s time for some truth. “Everything that was between us was a mistake and the only good thing that came from our relationship was Larissa.”

“You’re going to come with me right now,” Jack demands. “We’re going to pick Larissa up and we’re leaving.”

“No, that won’t be happening,” Lena disagrees. “You should leave. I have a restraining order,” she says, to remind him of that. “You’re not permitted entrance.”

“That was not a request,” Jack bristles. “You will obey me.”

“Jack, I’ve always been a lesbian,” Lena says, feeling a weight drop to say that. “I never asked for the arrange marriage we had.”

“You’re going to regret this,” Jack says with a threatening tone. He grabs the chair in front of Lena’s desk and throws it at the window at full force, breaking the glass. “Being a lesbian is disgusting.”

Lena covers her face with her arms to avoid having the glass hitting her face. She hardly gets time to process what happened when she’s being yanked up from her chair and roughly pushed against the wall.

“Leave her alone,” Kara says sternly, clad as Supergirl. She’d been in the neighborhood and had picked up on the conversation. When she heard glass shatter, she knew it was getting very ugly very fast.

Jack howls in pain when Supergirl over flexes his wrist.

Kara grits her teeth and she feels an overwhelming urge to punch him. It’s sickening that this man thinks it wouldn’t be okay that Lena is a lesbian and it gives her a fresh view of the arranged marriage her ex went through. Maybe there are things Lena didn’t tell her.

Lena’s eyes widen in shock when Kara throws Jack over her couch. “Supergirl, stop,” she pleads, knowing that this is not who Kara is.

Kara’s chest is heaving and it irks her that she wants to rip that man apart so badly. He needs to leave before she kills him. “Do not come back,” she warns Jack. “Hit the road, Jack.”

Lena is trying to clean up shards of glass while Jack stumbles out of her office with a mortified look on his face. “Kara,” she says softly.

“Stop that!” Kara shouts when Lena cuts herself at the glass. “Do you have any idea how crazy worried I have been??”

Lena is taken aback by Kara’s anger, which seems to be fueled by concern.

“He could have hurt you really badly,” Kara whispers, feeling her shoulders slump. “Don’t touch the glass, I’ll clean it up.”

Lena moves away from the glass so Kara can clean it up. She didn’t want to upset her ex, again. “I’m sorry,” she whispers, casting her eyes down.

Kara lets out a slow breath, her anger diminishing further at the sound of defeat she heard from Lena. She hurries to clean the glass up so she can leave, because being here is not good. She’s not sure why she felt such intense anger to kill Jack. It’s just when he was hurting Lena, it set something off in her.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Maggie’s jaw drops so much she might have to pick it up from the floor as she walks into Astra’s house with Jamie, Molly and Riley. Her plan was to drop them off so Astra can babysit them, but for some reason there are suddenly more children here.

“That was my face exactly,” Lucy comments, grinning as Maggie gathers herself. “I think Star is really getting the hang of this whole babysitting thing,” she says, planning to stick around today to help out.

“You don’t say,” Maggie replies, shocked. Seven already seemed like a lot for one person, even though Astra is good at what she does, but this is just, wow. There are three children she hasn’t seen here before. “Who are those children?”

“Friends of Lilith,” Lucy answers, shrugging. “She brought them along today so Lyra and Larissa can befriend them as well,” she explains, from what she’s been told. “Oh and guess what,” she says with a smirk.

“What?” Maggie asks, having no clue what to guess about.

“One of them is Livewire’s kid,” Lucy answers, keeping her voice low.

“You’re serious?” Maggie asks, thoroughly surprised when Lucy nods. “I didn’t know she has a child,” she says, which is news to her. Livewire was once a villain, who ended up redeeming herself. “I take it Leslie’s child is the one with the white hair,” she guesses.

“Yup, that’s Sydney,” Lucy replies, confirming Maggie’s guess. “Leslie is together with Siobhan apparently, and they live in our neighborhood.”

“Small neighborhood,” Maggie comments, surprised that Livewire and Silver Banshee both live in their neighborhood. “This sure is an interesting neighborhood.”

“Sydney has Leslie’s powers,” Lucy explains, to point out that this particular neighborhood isn’t all that human. “She’s six, just like Lyra and Lilith.”

“What about those other two children?” Maggie asks, nodding her head in their direction.

“The taller girl is Morgan,” Lucy answers, pointing at the girl with dark blonde locks and a tanned skin. “She’s eight years old and she’s the daughter of Sara and Nyssa.”

“Oh right, I met Sara and Nyssa a few times,” Maggie replies, remembering them.

“R’gann is M’gann’s daughter, but she changed her looks,” Lucy says, understanding why Maggie didn’t recognize the ten year old girl.

“This is too much for Astra to handle,” Maggie says, feeling like there’s no way Astra can properly babysit ten children, no matter how good she is.

“That’s why I’m here,” Lucy assures Maggie.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Slow down, Kara,” Alex says to her sister who has been punching through bricks.

“I’m just so mad!” Kara shouts. She lets out a guttural groan as she kicks her foot against the bricks, making the wall crash down. “He was hurting her and he is so mean and so bad. I hurt his wrist and I didn’t stop.”

“Who are you talking about?” Alex asks, confused. “Who was hurting who?”

“Jack was hurting Lena,” Kara answers, balling her fists. “He threw a chair through the glass of her balcony and he just argh!”

“Easy, Kara,” Alex says gently as she places a hand on her sister’s shoulder. “Do you think a part of your anger could be because you feel something for her?”

“What? No,” Kara answers. She wildly shakes her head. “That’s not… I don’t know,” she says, unsure. “I just… care about her and it makes me angry when someone wants to hurt her. Lena’s been through enough.”

“It sounds like you could do with ice cream and a movie,” Alex replies, wanting her sister to wind down for a bit.

“Maybe we could train a bit instead,” Kara suggests. “We can have the ice cream afterwards though,” she adds quickly when she catches her sister raising an eyebrow. It would be unlike her to say no to food.

Alex nods and follows her sister to the room with the kryptonite emitters. Kara probably needs this right now to get some of her rage out. “Don’t leave your sides unprotected,” she warns as she gets into position.

Kara knows that sometimes she loses her concentration when she is angry and leaves her sides open, but she can do this and at least this is only training. “You wouldn’t actually hurt me, Alex,” she replies, beckoning her sister to make a move.

Alex grasps a hold of her sister and flips her onto her back. “You’re making rookie mistakes again,” she points out to emphasize that Kara needs to step up her game.

“Why does Jack treat Lena and Larissa so badly?” Kara asks, unable to grasp it. “I don’t get why some people are such jerks. Lena deserves to be loved and she deserves gentle touches.”

Alex pulls Kara back up to her feet and she would say something, but then her sister is talking again.

“If Lena hadn’t said no to me ten years ago we could have been happy,” Kara says brokenly. “I loved her so much.”

 


	10. Chapter 10

Lena is about to knock on Astra’s door when it opens. It’s already dark out and she worked late, far too late because her daughter should be in bed already. “I’m sorry I’m so late,” she apologizes to Astra. She doesn’t want to take advantage of Astra’s generosity to babysit Larissa.

“You may enter,” Astra replies, letting Lena into her house. “Larissa is sleeping upstairs,” she explains, having put the sleeping girl to bed an hour ago.

Lena nods and follows Astra towards the couch. “I didn’t mean for this to happen,” she says, wringing her hands together. “Sometimes I lose track of time and I shouldn’t have.”

“It is no trouble,” Astra assures Lena while she gestures for her to sit.

“I’m good at messing things up,” Lena whispers, feeling like she keeps doing things wrong.

“Do you wish to talk about it?” Astra asks, brushing her fingers through Lena’s hair. “You look sad.”

Lena can sense a certain parental vibe coming from Astra. “I should have told Kara the truth,” she answers, regretting that she didn’t. “Ten years ago, my mother told me that she had promised my hand to Jack, even though I’ve always been a lesbian. I knew I didn’t love him, I just couldn’t, but I had to marry him. I had to do what my mother wanted because it was an arranged marriage.”

Astra nods in understanding, remembering her arranged marriage with Non and how she did not love him either. When it comes down to arranged marriages, only a few are lucky to marry someone they love.

“I didn’t tell Kara,” Lena continues, sighing deeply. “A few days after I knew, I still hadn’t told her and then she proposed to me. I loved her so much, I wanted to say yes to her and if I could I would have. But, I said no because I was promised to Jack. I didn’t want to involve Kara into my family’s drama and into their hate.”

“You cannot change the past, unfortunately,” Astra replies calmly as she caresses Lena’s cheek. “The future is another story.”

“I should have cut ties with my family,” Lena whispers, wishing she would have done that. She should have ran away and refuse marrying Jack to be with Kara. “Kara is so good and so pure, and it’s not fair towards her that I didn’t tell her the truth. I hurt her when I said no when she proposed.”

“You love my niece,” Astra notes, hearing it in the way Lena talks about Kara.

“I do,” Lena admits. “All these years I never stopped loving her because I’ve always loved her, but after everything I did, love is not enough,” she says, feeling like she would need more than that to mend things with Kara.

“Love needs to be shown every day,” Astra replies, dropping her hand. “If you love my niece as much as you claim you will not give up on her. You fight for those you love. When you are frightened, you jump anyway.”

“I wish my family would have accepted me for who I am,” Lena says, though that’s wishful thinking. “Even when I tried to be the straight daughter they wanted me to be, I just wasn’t enough and I guess I never would have been. So, it’s probably better to let them be disappointed in who I am than let them be disappointed in someone I’m not. At least with the former I can be happy, maybe. I want to make things right with Kara, but I don’t know how.”

“You do know how,” Astra says, disagreeing. “Be who you are. No secrets, no lies, no hidden truths. Open your heart and if it is meant to be, it will be.”

Lena swallows while she nods, letting those words sink in. “Thank you, Astra,” she says, squeezing Astra’s hands. “Seriously, thank you. For… for listening and for giving me advice and for being so kind to me.”

Astra brings her arms up around Lena, pulling her into a gentle hug. While she strokes Lena’s back, she thinks of how Lena is like another child she never had.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Kara is sitting behind her desk when a live interview plays on the television. It’s an interview with Lena and she’s surprised to see her giving a live interview. Her eyes nearly bulge out when she hears everything her ex is saying, for thousands of people who must be watching, no less. She splutters awkwardly when she hears Lena talking about what a big mistake she made ten years ago.

“Oh Rao,” Kara whispers whilst trying to shield her face with her hands.

“Kiera!” Cat shouts loudly.

Kara quickly gets up to run into her boss’ office. “Yes, Miss Grant?” she asks, wondering what Cat wants or needs.

“I am going to need an exclusive interview from Lena Luthor,” Cat answers, tipping her sunglasses on the bridge of her nose. “Why did you keep this information from me?”

“I um… I didn’t think it would relevant,” Kara answers awkwardly. “It’s been ten years and it’s a private thing.”

“Lena Luthor is publicly coming out as a lesbian,” Cat points out. “I want her on our front page to inspire young girls all in National City. Lena will be a role model. She is one of the most known women in this city and many people are going to want her story.”

Kara sighs, but she nods anyway. “I’ll get that interview for you, Miss Grant,” she assures her boss.

“What she did is not quite right,” Cat says softly. “But perhaps you can give her a second chance, hm?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kara replies, averting her eyes. Of course she knows what her boss is talking about, but she’s not going to discuss parts of her life. Her feelings are not the same from what they used to be ten years ago. It’s all messy and she’s not sure what to do when it comes down to Lena.

Kara walks out of Miss Grant’s office and she wonders why Lena is suddenly throwing so much out in the open when her ex clearly stated being private about everything that isn’t strictly work related. It’s confusing and on top of that people have been bringing her flowers from Lena, bouquets with nothing but the same flowers as the one her ex gave her once.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“A good strategy is essential,” Astra whispers to Lucy while she watches Larissa play chess against Sydney. “Each move is calculated and precise. There is no margin to be impulsive.”

“It’s a game of chess, not war,” Lucy replies, raising an eyebrow at Astra. “While you’re busy observing, I can hold Apollo,” she says, reaching her arms out for the little guy.

“I can do both,” Astra says, refusing to hand Apollo over.

“You really have it bad with children,” Lucy comments, always noticing Astra’s affection towards children and even towards Kara, Alex and Maggie.

Lyra rests her head on Larissa’s shoulder, watching the game. “Are you close to checkmate yet?” she asks curiously.

“Not yet,” Larissa answers with a small smile. “I want to give Sydney a chance to make good moves.”

“This game sucks,” Sydney says as she throws a chess piece away.

“Language, Sydney,” Astra warns lightly. “And no throwing.”

“I’m sorry,” Sydney apologizes. “This game is difficult and I’d much rather do karate.”

“Maybe you can teach me karate,” Larissa suggests.

“No,” Lyra says sternly while she shakes her head at Sydney. “She can’t teach you because… um, you could get hurt.”

“I’m stronger than you think,” Larissa replies as she picks up the chess piece Sydney threw away. She frowns when Sydney snorts and Lyra chuckles. “I mean it.”

“I’ll teach you some things if you get permission from your mother first,” Lucy says to Larissa, because it’s not her decision to make. If Lena doesn’t mind, she can teach Larissa some basic defense moves.

“I will ask my mother tonight,” Larissa says, hopeful that her mother will say yes. “Are you all different like Lilith?” she asks, simply wondering.

“No,” Sydney answers abruptly. “We’re not flower power girls.”

“Be nice,” Lyra chastises Sydney. “Lili is sweet and amazing.”

“I didn’t say you would have the powers Lilith has,” Larissa clarifies. “Maybe you have different powers.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lena sighs as she reads through her mail and it frustrates her that Jack hasn’t signed the papers for their divorce yet. She made it crystal clear that she is not interested to ever be with him again and even told him she is a lesbian. The fact that he isn’t signing the papers for their divorce must be his way to try and spite her.

She wants him to sign to push him further out of her life and out of Larissa’s life. Usually, she would never deny her daughter seeing her father, but Larissa is terrified of Jack and has no desire to have him in her life. Her daughter comes first and she will go to far lengths to protect Larissa.

Jack needs to be stripped from all his parental rights, permanently. She hopes that he will have an epiphany where he would willingly sign each paper so he can do at least one good act as a father. Honestly, signing those papers would be the biggest favor he can do them. Jack never even wanted Larissa, ever since she found out she was pregnant he didn’t want her.

The only reason Jack is trying to get his hands on her daughter is because it is the last thing that can hurt her. Jack and her mother are both cold people who hardly care about Larissa. They don’t care that they’re toxic for her daughter. She knows what her mother is playing into. Her mother couldn’t mold her into the daughter she wanted, so now her mother is trying to take her daughter away.

She will never let anyone have Larissa, not unless it’s over her dead body. Her mother and Jack should give it a rest because what they are attempting to do is pathetic and a waste of time. Thanks to Jack’s resistance to sign those papers for their divorce, she’ll have to file them all over again. She wonders if there is some sort of deal she could make with him to ensure he will sign each paper and the ensure Larissa doesn’t have to be afraid anymore.

As she dials Jack’s number, she holds that thought.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Alex knits her eyebrows together when her sister shows up for lunch with flowers. “You look annoyed for someone who’s holding flowers,” she notes, seeing how Kara looks like she’s about to snap someone in half.

Kara exhales audibly as she takes a seat. She agreed to meet up with her sister and with Maggie to eat lunch together. “These flowers are from Lena,” she says, putting the bouquet down on the table. “She keeps sending these.”

“So you figured to take them with you for lunch?” Alex asks, surprised.

“Miss Grant grew tired of the smell,” Kara answers, though her boss is annoyed by things quickly.

“Tiger lilies,” Maggie says as she observes the bouquet. She’d recognize those flowers everywhere, despite not being much of an expert when it comes to flowers. “You said Lena has been sending you those?”

“Yes, she has,” Kara confirms. “They are sort of pretty I suppose,” she says with half a shrug. “And they smell sweet.”

Maggie contemplates whispering something in Alex’s ear, but then Kara would hear what she’s saying. She knows little Danvers wouldn’t true to eavesdrop, though it’s better not to whisper near Kara. “Flowers usually have a meaning,” she says casually. “Maybe those do as well,” she continues, hinting at it without having to say it.

“Hmm, maybe,” Kara replies, not sure if that makes a difference.

Alex tilts her head curiously as she looks at her wife, wondering what Maggie is on to. Knowing her wife, she wouldn’t say that randomly without a reason, so those flowers must mean something.

“We should have a movie night,” Maggie suggests with a smile. “I’m dying to watch Imagine Me & You again,” she says, to share her preference.

“That movie is sweet, but it has a cruel undertone,” Kara says, disliking it when someone cheats. She can’t wrap her mind around being interested like that in someone when married. Personally she would never get involved with someone who is married.

 


	11. Chapter 11

Lena frowns when the phone keeps ringing until she reaches Jack’s voicemail. It’s unusual of him not to pick up. This is the second time she’s been trying to call him today. The first time she hung up before it could ring, needing to take deep breaths and give herself the courage to do this.

It’s getting late now and she has to leave soon to pick up Larissa. If she wants to talk with Jack it needs to happen now. The longer she waits, the longer it will take for Larissa to be safe.

The hours she took to convince herself to call him gave her plenty of time to think. She realized there’s only one solid way to ensure he’ll sign their divorce papers _and_ agree to never go near their daughter. There’s very little she wouldn’t do for her daughter.

She will offer Jack L-Corp in exchange for their divorce and him giving up his parental rights. With the technology her company holds, she knows he won’t pass up that offer. It would mean she’d be left empty-handed, but it’s better than the alternative of having to endure Jack’s temper.

“Pick up, Jack,” she whispers into the phone as she tries to call him again.

After four more tries, Lena gives up, assuming he must have gotten caught up in business. She’s about to leave her office when her phone rings. Her pulse quickens as she hesitantly picks up.

It’s an unknown number.

“Hello, this is Miss Luthor speaking,” Lena says politely. “May I ask who is calling me?”

She frowns when the voice replies, mentioning the hospital.

“Yes, I will be there shortly,” Lena says into her phone. “Thank you for calling me.”

As soon as she hangs up, she calls Astra.

“Astra, it’s me – yes,” Lena says, pacing around in her office. “I’m fine - Not really, but I will be. I want to ask if you would mind watching Larissa a bit longer, perhaps even – yes, a sleepover would be perfect, thank you.”

Lena laughs dryly, briefly thinking how Astra has been much more considerate and understanding in such a small amount of time than her mother has ever been when everything is added up together.

“No, I was having an inner joke of sorts, I’m not laughing at something you said,” Lena assures Astra. “I’ll see you later, once again, thank you.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Alex’s jaw drops in shock when her sister arrives at her house with blood on her clothes. She’d been expecting Kara for their movie night.

“Hey, babe, was someone at the do- wow, little Danvers,” Maggie says, dropping the bag of chips she had in her hand.

“Kara,” Alex says softly, concerned. “What happened?”

“He’s… I was… and blood,” Kara answers vaguely, eyes wide. “Lena’s husband is at the hospital because of me,” she whimpers, looking down at the blood.

“I need you to take a deep breath, Kara,” Alex replies, taking her sister’s hand to guide her towards the couch to sit down. “Slowly tell me exactly what happened.”

Maggie sits down on Kara’s other side, resting a hand on her knee. “Take your time,” she says, patting Kara’s knee. “I’m here to listen, as your family,” she adds, not planning to report her even if she ends up committing a crime.

“I… I was flying above the city, like I do sometimes,” Kara explains, fidgeting nervously with her hands. “Jack was in his car and I saw him running a red light…There was another vehicle. I knew they were going to collide, but I didn’t do anything to stop it.”

Maggie gives Kara’s knee a gentle squeeze. It’s dumb that Jack drove through a red light while he should have stopped.

“I’m Supergirl, I’m supposed to protect people,” Kara says, tearing up. “I didn’t do anything because I kept thinking how much I wanted him to stay away from Lena and Larissa. So I… I let them collide… An innocent man is dead because of me. I was able to bring Jack to the hospital and he’s in a coma, they’re not sure if he’ll ever wake up again.”

“Jack should have stopped his car,” Maggie says, not really blaming Kara.

“I let an innocent man die because I wanted Jack gone,” Kara replies weakly, distraught by what she has done, regardless of how evil Jack is.

“Everybody makes mistakes sometimes, Kara,” Alex says, offering her sister a sympathetic look. “This doesn’t change how many people you’ve saved and probably will save in the future.”

“How about you go get cleaned up and we’ll make you something to eat, hm?” Maggie suggests to Kara. “We’ll be here all night for you to talk to.”

“I still want to watch a movie,” Kara replies, needing a distraction from what happened. “The food won’t be necessary though,” she murmurs, not feeling hungry.

A little while later, Kara is cushioned between Alex and Maggie while they watch Imagine Me & You.

“Oh,” Kara whispers, clicking her tongue when the flowers Lena’s been giving her are being mentioned in the movie. She’s not sure what to make of her ex daring her to love her. It’s hard to be dared something she already does.

She sighs, thinking about all the complications. Lena is still married, even though Jack is a jerk who doesn’t deserve her and despite him being at the hospital. Her ex might not love her husband, but that doesn’t make her any less involved with him.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“The triplets are finally sleeping,” Lucy says, letting out a relieved sigh, followed by a small smile.

It took her more than an hour to get them to sleep. Helping them into their pajamas was the worst part. Once she’d helped Jamie into her pajamas, Riley had wriggled out of hers while Molly was throwing hers across the room. How Maggie and Alex do it is beyond her. The triplets are tougher to babysit than Lyra and Apollo, even with Apollo’s random bursts of using his powers.

“Any luck getting Apollo to sleep?” Lucy asks Astra.

“He fell asleep halfway through the fairytale,” Astra answers, smiling when Lucy yawns. “You could use sleep.”

“Mhmm, I probably could,” Lucy hums, agreeing. “Would you tuck me in?”

“I wouldn’t bet on it if I were you,” Astra answers, descending the stairs.

“I’m going to make hot chocolate for Lyra and Larissa,” Lucy says, following Astra down the stairs. “Do you want anything sweet and hot?”

Astra catches Lucy’s shirt riding up as she reaches up to grab mugs from the cupboard in the kitchen, revealing taut muscles and tanned skin.

“I could use a hand,” Lucy says, smirking when Astra averts her eyes as if she hasn’t caught her staring already. “It’s getting hot,” she says when the hot chocolate is almost ready.

Astra walks up behind Lucy, taking the mugs from her. “I shall bring these to the girls while you cool down,” she says with a teasing hint in her voice. “After the movie they choose, they need to go to bed.”

“It’s still going to be fairly early when they go to sleep, well for us at least,” Lucy reasons. “Maybe we could watch a movie together then, I know some great action movies.”

“Maybe,” Astra replies, smiling to herself. “Those movies are the only action you get.”

“Damn you,” Lucy mumbles. “That was a mean burn,” she says, mildly impressed and slightly offended at the same time, but she knows Astra didn’t say that out of menace.

“Need someone to kiss it better?” Astra teases, leaning against the doorpost.

Lucy looks Astra up and down before nodding to herself. “Why, you offering?” she asks, taking the bait.

“Lucy,” Lyra calls out from the living room. “Are you two done being in lesbians so we can have our hot chocolate?”

 

 

* * *

 

 

There is a breathing tube supplying air to Jack while his heart is being monitored. His face has a bunch of scratches and cuts.

Lena almost pities him, almost. She clears her throat when her mother enters the room. Of course, she should have known her mother would show up. She was probably phoned by the hospital as well.

“This is your fault,” Lillian states flatly.

“My fault?” Lena asks, sadly not surprised that her mother is choosing to blame her.

“You did this to him,” Lillian answers coldly. “All he wanted was to be with his family, with his wife and his daughter. You pushed him to drink too much and get into an accident.”

“Jack shouldn’t have been driving while being drunk,” Lena replies, standing her ground. “It was irresponsible of him.”

“Watch your tongue,” Lillian spits, raising a hand.

“We are at the hospital, mother,” Lena says calmly. “You may want to act accordingly,” she suggests, knowing it may bite her in the ass later on.

It looks like steam is about to come out of Lillian’s ears as she lowers her hand, her face red with anger. “We need to find you a new suitable husband,” she says, running her hand through her hair.

Lena scoffs, although yet again she can’t say she’s surprised. Jack hasn’t even died yet and her mother wants to marry her off to someone else, another man whom she would never love.

“It won’t be easy to find a man who will marry you while you have a child,” Lillian says, deep in thought.

“I don’t want to marry a man,” Lena says, sighing because her mother seems too occupied with talking to herself to listen to her. For once she wishes her mother would listen, truly listen.

“Not many men will be interested, especially not with your difficult attitude,” Lillian continues. “Thankfully, Maxwell Lord-”

“No,” Lena interrupts. When her mother glares at her, she glares back just as fiercely. “I refuse to ever marry a man again,” she says, gathering her courage.

“You can’t become a spinster, that would be a disgrace to our family,” Lillian replies, a vein revealing itself above her eye. “Your father would turn around in his grave.”

“I’m a lesbian, mother,” Lena says, her voice shaking, but she’s relieved to get it out. “If and when I marry, it will be a woman, not a man.”

“You are ruining our family,” Lillian sneers, keeping her voice just low enough to prevent others from hearing their conversation.

Lena doesn’t want to bicker with her mother any longer. She’s tired and all she wants is to go home to be with her daughter. A weight drops off of her shoulders when a doctor walks in.

“Miss Luthor, may I have a word?” the doctor asks politely with a tight smile. “In private,” he adds.

Lena nods and raises an eyebrow at her mother, waiting for her to leave the room. She feels victorious when her mother practically stamps out of the room. That feeling is short-lived when reality is dumped on her like an ice bath.

“The damage to his brains is permanent,” the doctor explains, holding a clipboard. “Even if he wakes up, he will never be able to speak again or take care of himself. His lungs are damaged as well. His brain won’t tell him to breathe, he needs to receive oxygen. Our machines can keep him alive until you are ready to say goodbye. I am deeply sorry, Miss Luthor.”

The way Lena sees it, she already said goodbye long ago. She never loved Jack, but she wouldn’t have wished this upon him. His temper was awful, but his mind was brilliant. She’d been sure he was going to find a cure for cancer. It was one of the few things she managed to appreciate about him.

“I have to speak with my daughter,” Lena says thoughtfully.

She isn’t sure what she’ll say to Larissa, though she won’t lie to her. Her daughter deserves to know what is happening to her father so she can choose if she wants to see him one last time or not. She won’t take that away from Larissa.

 


	12. Chapter 12

“What’d you think, little Danvers?” Maggie asks when the movie is over.

Kara opens and closes her mouth. “It was… um,” she answers, closing her mouth again. She’s seen that movie before, but it was different this time. “Eye opening?” she says, her voice lifting slightly in question.

“We knew what the tiger lily meant when you mentioned Lena gave you that flower,” Alex reveals.

“I see… and you couldn’t have told me then,” Kara replies, sighing though she has a weak smile on her face. “So Lena…”

“Wants you to love her,” Alex fills in.

“Dares,” Maggie corrects. “She’s daring her to.”

“I don’t know about this,” Kara whispers, resting her elbows on her knees and her face in her hands. “She said no when I proposed to her ten years ago and now she’s back. She told me she was already engaged with…” Her breath catches and tears prick through her eyes. “It’s my fault he’s at the hospital.”

“Wait, what?” Alex asks, frowning so deeply the lines might stay there. “Are you saying Lena was already engaged when you proposed? You two were still together when she was seeing someone else?”

“Babe,” Maggie whispers to her wife, her eyes widening whilst she shakes her head.

Alex nods and rests a hand on her sister’s back. “It’s not your fault when people drive recklessly, Kara,” she says, rubbing her back.

Kara moves her jaw a bit. “I don’t think she ever loved him,” she whispers, dropping her hands. “But she could have walked away from that arranged marriage and she could have been with me,” she says, even though she’s aware it probably wasn’t that simple.

Maggie holds a hand up. “Let me stop you right there,” she says, despite a matching frown from Alex and Kara. “Don’t stay in that whole could have, should have and would have. The past is gone, you don’t live there anymore. What matters is now and the future.”

“Maggie’s right,” Alex says, reaching for one of her sister’s hands. “Whatever her reasons were back then to turn you down, she’s here now and from the looks of it, she loves you. I might not agree with how she handled it in the past, but if you love her, you should go for it and not let her slip away for the second time.”

Maggie mouths ‘I love you’ to her wife.

Kara fidgets with her glasses. “I don’t know if she’d even want to see me again once she knows I could have prevented that accident,” she replies, biting her bottom lip. “I have to tell her.”

“I doubt that’s a good idea, Kara,” Alex says, giving her sister’s hand a squeeze.

“She has to know,” Kara replies, standing up. “I don’t want to lie to her.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Daddy looks like he’s sleeping,” Larissa whispers, carefully peering over the edge of the bed. “Is he ever going to wake up?”

“Most likely not,” Lena answers, crouching down next to Larissa. “He won’t recognize us if he wakes up.”

Larissa frowns. “How come?” she asks, turning to her side to look at her mother.

All Lena told Larissa so far was that her father is at the hospital because something happened and she asked if she wanted to visit him. Her daughter nodded yes, but didn’t let go of her hand until they entered his room.

“Your father has been in an accident with his car,” Lena says softly. “His brain doesn’t work anymore.”

“He can’t hurt us if he doesn’t know us,” Larissa replies, putting a hand on her mother’s shoulder.

A tremor runs through Lena’s body and before she can stop it, tears fall.

“I didn’t mean to make you cry, mama,” Larissa whispers, hugging her mother.

Lena wipes her tears away with her sleeves. “These aren’t sad tears, sweetheart,” she whispers, caressing Larissa’s back. She knows she’s been thinking a lot about their safety, but she didn’t know her daughter was thinking so much about it as well. “Your father won’t be able to hurt anyone anymore.”

“Lyra cried when she lost her father,” Larissa says, looking at her father for a minute. “Is it wrong I’m not crying?”

“No, sweetheart,” Lena answers while wrapping her arms firmly around her daughter.

“Can we go home now?”

Lena nods and takes her daughter’s hand to leave this room and the hospital.

At the door, Larissa looks back. “Goodbye, daddy,” she says, releasing a deep sigh.

Lena feels like tearing up all over again. Her daughter is so strong, handling this much better than she is. She feels like Larissa is growing up way too fast and is too young to have to process everything that has happened.

“I’ll be back in a second, my little darling,” Lena says, caressing her daughter’s cheek. “Wait here,” she says, pointing at a row of chairs.

Larissa nods and sits down, wiggling her legs which can’t reach the floor.

Lena hurries towards the bathroom. She rushes inside, turning the sink on to splash cold water into her face. “It’s not right,” she whispers to her reflection. “I should comfort her, not the other way around. I’m the adult, I’m her mother.”

Once Lena has gotten a grip on herself, she walks back to where her daughter is waiting for her.

“Did you hear, mama?” Larissa asks, hopping off the chair and taking her mother’s hand.

“Hear what, sweetie?” Lena asks, swinging her arm to make their walk back home more enjoyable for her daughter.

“Supergirl brought daddy to the hospital,” Larissa answers, swinging her arm too. She smiles up at her mother. “The doctor with the lollipop told me so.”

Lena stops walking and stares at her daughter, not spotting a lollipop. “I don’t see a lollipop,” she replies, frowning. She’s not sure what to make of the fact that Kara brought Jack to the hospital, but it must mean that her ex was nearby when it happened.

“You told me not to take candy from strangers,” Larissa says, tugging at her mother’s hand to keep walking. “I don’t know that doctor.”

Lena smiles and thinks how she wouldn’t have minded it if her daughter had accepted the lollipop from the doctor. “That’s my good girl,” she replies, proud. “How does ice cream on our way home sound?”

Larissa’s eyes twinkle. “Can I have two scoops?” she asks, grasping her mother’s hand with both of her hands. “Please, mama?”

“Yes, you deserved it,” Lena answers, smiling more when her daughter squeals in joy.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“I can do this,” Kara says, taking one step. She sighs and takes a step back, shutting her front door. “I can’t do this.”

Several deep breaths later, she tries again.

“Not telling her would be lying by omission,” Kara mumbles to herself.

It takes Kara four minutes to reach Lena’s door, two more than usual.

“Kara?” Lena asks, showing up behind her ex.

Kara spins around, eyes widening. “Lena, hi,” she says, unsure what to do with her hands. “Were you out?”

“I dropped Larissa off at Astra’s place,” Lena answers, tilting her head to the side. “Are you alright?”

Kara laughs because she should be asking Lena that question. “Sorry,” she mumbles when Lena frowns. “I have to tell you something,” she blurts out before she can chicken out again.

“Who are they?” Lucy asks, piping up behind them. She bobs her head towards the end of the street.

Kara sighs. She’d been so close to tell Lena about the accident and how she didn’t prevent it. “It looks like we’re getting new neighbors,” she observes. She curiously eyes a woman lifting boxes out of a truck, following instructions from another woman. “We should go say hi,” she suggests.

“Perhaps we should wait,” Lena tries, but it’s too late because Kara is already marching up to them with her bubbling enthusiasm. “Until they unpack,” she finishes quietly. She exhales and follows Kara to greet their new neighbors.

“Hi!” Kara says, smiling at the new people. “You must be new.”

“What gave it away, the truck or the fact that I’m carrying this box?”

“Be nice, Jess.”

“Hello,” Lena says politely, ignoring the dark haired woman’s rude attitude, although she can’t blame her if this is a bad time to be disturbed. “I’m Lena and this is Kara and Lucy, we live in this neighborhood and wanted to say hi.”

“That’s very friendly. I’m Trish,” the blonde haired woman replies. “And this grumpy cat is Jessica.”

“Welcome to the gayborhood,” Lucy says, grinning.

“Not everyone in our neighborhood is gay, Luce,” Kara says, nearly rolling her eyes.

“Maggie and Alex,” Lucy replies, counting on her fingers. “Harley and Ivy, Leslie and Siobhan, Sara and Nyssa, you and -”

“Point taken,” Kara interrupts.

“It’s nice to have a new gay couple around here,” Lucy says to Jessica and Trish. “Got any kids?”

“Trish is my sister,” Jessica replies, rolling her eyes.

“Smooth, Luce,” Kara mumbles, sharing a look with her friend. “You shouldn’t assume everyone’s gay.”

“I don’t,” Lucy huffs. “I just assume nobody’s straight until they say otherwise.”

“That is… literally… the same thing.”

“Jess, babe!” Harley calls out, waving enthusiastically while she runs towards them. “I haven’t seen ya since that time they locked me up in prison.”

Jessica gives Harley a sign of recognition with a nod, but that’s all.

Lena isn’t sure what to say anymore. She didn’t really want to say hi in the first place. In this neighborhood everyone seems to know everyone, but she’s more of a private person. Well, as private as being a Luthor can get that is. The whole welcoming got awkward when Lucy thought Jessica and Trish are a couple.

“We still have a lot to unpack,” Jessica says, lifting the box higher.

“Oh, right,” Kara replies, smiling. “Would you like some help?” she asks, gesturing at the rest of the boxes in the truck.

“No,” Jessica answers at the same time Trish says, “yes, thank you.”

Kara is distracted when she sees a girl, who she guesses is a teenager, with long blonde hair. “Is that your erm… sister?” she asks curiously.

“We took her in,” Trish answers. “Her name is Hope, she’s eighteen.”

As if on cue, Hope approaches them. “Hi, did I miss the welcoming party?” she asks with a tight smile. She is strikingly thin, so much so that she could do with a meal or two. Her eyes have no spark in them and the dark circles under her eyes betray she hasn’t slept in days.

Lena can’t shake the thought of how pained Hope looks. She doesn’t miss the way Jessica stays near Hope, as if she’s ready to attack whoever would dare touch the girl.

“We should throw a party,” Lucy says, snapping her fingers. “I’ll get our booze.”

“Oh, oh!” Kara shouts, smiling. “I can make cupcakes,” she says, already thinking of how she’ll decorate them.

“I have to go to L-Corp,” Lena says, glancing at her watch. She has a meeting in twenty minutes and she’s not one for tardiness. “What did you want to tell me, Kara?” she asks, touching her upper arm to gain her attention.

“Um… I…w-wanted,” Kara stutters, “t-to tell… um… you that… I’m here, if you um… need any-anything.”

Lena lifts her chin, frowning at Kara’s words. “I’ll let you know if I do,” she replies, walking away, confused. She’s quite sure she knows what Kara is trying to tell her, but she’s not surprised her ex is being a nervous stuttering mess about it.

Kara sighs and slumps her shoulders, staring down at the ground. She was going to spit it out, she really was, but at the last second she just couldn’t do it.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Lucy asks, throwing an arm around Kara.

“Her husband is at the hospital because of me,” Kara answers, whispering.

“Rewind,” Lucy replies, walking Kara to her place. “Explain from the beginning.”

Kara takes a deep breath. It’s Lena who she should be explaining this to. “I was flying above the city…”

 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *warning for the homophobic slur in this chapter*

Winn spins his chair around while Jamie sits on his lap, clapping her hands together as she laughs.

“Agent Danvers,” J’onn grumbles. “This is not a daycare.”

“I tried leaving her at Astra’s place, but she wouldn’t let go of me,” Alex replies, smiling at her daughter.

“Try saying no next time,” J’onn huffs. “Supergirl, take Riley home.”

“That’s not Riley, sir,” Kara replies, containing her smile when Jamie coos as Winn spins the chair again.

“Get Molly out of here,” J’onn orders.

“That’s not Moll-”

“Just get this child out of here,” J’onn says, plucking the little girl from Winn’s lap and holding her out to Kara.

“Aww,” Kara says when Molly starts wailing. “Did the grumpy Martian make you cry?”

“We have important matters to tend to,” J’onn says in all seriousness. “This place is not safe for children.”

“Um… should I be worried?” Winn asks, eyes flitting towards the exit. “I like to – I mean us adults like to be safe, too.”

“It won’t happen again, sir,” Alex says to J’onn, although it’s not the first time she says that. “I’ll take her home, Jamie’s afraid of heights, I don’t think letting Kara fly her home is a good idea.”

“Sir, we have a code red at CatCo,” Winn says, tapping away at his computer. “A um…cyborg is wrecking the place.”

“No!” Kara shouts, gasping. “I spent hours working on the article Cat wanted,” she says, not going to let some cyborg ruin every copy of the magazine which features Lena’s coming out story.

“Good to see you so concerned about the people who work there, Supergirl,” J’onn says with a gruff voice.

“The people,” Kara whispers, eyes widening. “I’m on my way,” she says, flying away to get there.

“I’ll call Agent Lane in,” Alex says, feeling around in her pockets for her phone. “She’s closer to CatCo and I bet Superwoman is with her. Supergirl might need the backup.”

“Agent Vasquez,” J’onn says. “Take the heli with agent Danvers so she can drop her daughter off.”

“Heights, sir,” Alex reminds him.

J’onn sighs. “I expect you back here as soon as possible,” he says to Alex. “And the next time you decide to bring one of your children here, I don’t expect you to come back.”

Alex nods stiffly. She really should be more careful and so should her wife, because Maggie received a warning a while back as well.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Kara exhales as she walks down the street. A few hours ago, she successfully stopped the cyborg with help from Lucy. It makes no sense to her what purpose someone could have had to send a cyborg there. Half of the copies that had been printed were ruined, but luckily the other half wasn’t yet.

Lucy had mockingly told her it might be some homophobe who wanted to ensure that article about Lena wouldn’t get published. It’s a silly theory and it was probably a coincidence.

She enters a small flower shop around the corner. There are flowers to her left and right, in various colors and smells. It feels like entering spring.

“Hi,” Kara says to the cashier. “I’m looking for flowers that mean something.”

The cashier’s lips split into a smile. “Every flower has a meaning,” she replies, voice soft and friendly. “Which message do you want it to have?”

“I want flowers that say I love her as a friend, but maybe more than a friend. Not the friends with benefits type of friendship. I mean, to each their own, but I don’t want flowers that say that. I want her to know I love her, even though it’s been ten years and that I accept the dare to love her,” Kara answers, smiling in relief. “Not that it’s a competition, I just want to give her flowers because she’s beautiful – oh, maybe the flowers should say that, too.”

The cashier drops her pen, jaw slack. “Can you slowly repeat that, Miss?” she asks, smiling as she picks her pen up.

Kara takes a deep breath and explains what she’s looking for all over again, though this time she pauses in between, waiting for the cashier to nod for her to continue.

“I have alstroemeria’s, they mean friendship,” the cashier says, pointing to the flowers. “The bird of paradise flower resembles exciting and wonderful anticipation. You could get one of those to tell her you’re looking forward to accept her dare. The gardenia means secret love, to tell the person who receives it that they are lovely.”

“Oh, yes!” Kara says, stalking towards the gardenias. They’re white and simple, but she likes what they mean. “I’ll have a bouquet of these.”

Satisfied, she leaves the shop twelve minutes later, making her way towards Lena’s office, where she is being let up without question.

Lena is sitting behind her desk, skimming through paperwork that’s spread out all over her desk. “Hello, Kara,” she says, lifting her head to meet her ex’s gaze. “Are you here for an interview?” she asks, scrambling her paperwork together.

“No,” Kara answers. She keeps a hand behind her back where she’s hiding the bouquet while she gets closer to Lena’s desk. “I um… er,” she says, revealing the bouquet. “These are for you.”

“Thank you, Kara,” Lena replies, accepting the flowers with a genuine smile. “These gardenias are lovely.”

“So are you,” Kara mumbles sheepishly, blushing.

Lena pushes her chair back and moves to sit on her couch. She doesn’t even have to ask Kara to join her because she’s already doing it out of her own accord. “I’ve been meaning to ask you if your offer still stands,” she says, a little uneasy.

Kara frowns. “My offer?” she asks dumbly.

“That you’re here if I would need anything,” Lena reminds her, frowning now too. “It’s okay if you’re not-”

“No, no,” Kara interrupts, holding her hands up as she shakes her head. “I meant it.”

“I signed paperwork at the hospital,” Lena explains, taking a deep breath while closing her eyes for two seconds. She releases her breath as she opens her eyes. “They will stop the machine that was keeping Jack alive.”

Kara’s body tenses while guilt washes over her. She could have prevented that. For Lena’s sake, she reaches out to squeeze her hand.

Lena squeezes Kara’s hand back, sighing at the contact. “His funeral is this weekend,” she says, barely believing that he’ll truly be gone. “I wanted to ask you and Astra if-”

“Yes,” Kara answers before Lena can finish her question. “My aunt and I will be there,” she promises, certain that Astra won’t mind. “I’ll be there, Lena,” she whispers, stroking the back of her ex’s hand with her thumb.

“It all happened so fast,” Lena whispers, staring blankly at the wall. “One moment I was stressing because he hadn’t signed our divorce papers yet and the next I was rushing to the hospital.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lena doesn’t move, doesn’t even blink as Jack’s coffin is being lowered into the ground. It’s like she wants to make sure he’s really gone. It feels surreal no longer having to be scared he’ll come after her daughter and her.

Kara is balancing Apollo on her hip while her other arm is draped over Lena’s shoulders, standing by her side. Across from her she can see Lillian Luthor glaring and every so often she hears her huff.

Lyra has her arms loosely around Larissa. “It’s okay,” she whispers in her ear. “Don’t be scared, I’ll protect you,” she whispers, even quieter when Larissa shivers.

Larissa flinches when she meets her grandmother’s gaze. She takes a step back, freezing when she feels a hand on her shoulder. Turning her head to the side to look, she sees it is Astra. The tension drops from her shoulders as she breathes out.

Astra graciously bends down. “You shall not be harmed,” she whispers to Larissa, taking one of her small hands into hers. She stands up and looks at Lillian, tilting her head in challenge. Lillian seems wise enough to stop glaring at Larissa.

Lena shakes her head no when she’s asked if she wants to place a white rose on Jack’s grave. She has no intention of ever visiting either. All she wanted was to come to his funeral to make sure he’s truly gone.

Astra averts her eyes from the graveyard. Human funerals are strange. They are buried under the ground where everything is dark while her kind is brought closer to the sun, to Rao’s light.

Together, they make their way to the coffee table. Not many others have shown up, aside from Lillian and a few old friends of Jack.

“You are the one who wrote a scandalous article about my daughter,” Lillian says to Kara, voice void of emotions.

“It is not scandalous, mother,” Lena says, rubbing her aching temples for her oncoming headache. “The article portrays who I am. Kara wrote it beautifully.”

“You let the whole city know you’re a dyke,” Lillian spits. “I had to hire an extra lawyer to keep the media away from my home.”

Lena swallows at the slur. She opens her mouth to say something, but no words come out. With a shaky breath, she turns around and walks away.

“With all due respect,” Kara says to Lillian, struggling to remain calm. “If you ever speak that way to Lena again you’ll need more than a lawyer,” she warns, wishing she could simply fling her into space.

Lillian’s eyes are on fire. “Are you threatening me?” she asks, taking a step closer towards Kara while lifting her chin up.

Kara juts her chin out, not easily intimidated by anyone who isn’t Lena. “Your daughter is stunning in every way. If you can’t see that, then that’s your loss,” she says, aggravated by Lillian’s coldness. She had no idea Lena’s relationship with her mother was as poorly constructed as it is. “You know what I’ll save my breath because I won’t get through to you anyway.”

“Shame on you,” Astra says to Lillian, unimpressed when the woman’s heart speeds up. “You received the gift of a child and you push that gift away. Where you fail to care for her, I shall.”

“I’m going to check up on Lena,” Kara excuses herself.

Astra nods and glares daggers at Lillian. “You were leaving,” she says, stepping further into her personal space.

Lillian glances at the door, but sits down at a table instead. “Larissa, come here,” she barks. “Disobedient child,” she says when Larissa remains where she is, seated next to Lyra.

Larissa gasps when her grandmother approaches her with her hand raised.

Kara catches Lillian’s wrist before it can collide with Larissa’s cheek.

Lillian groans as she tries to free her wrist from Kara’s grip.

“Kara, stop,” Lena says, sighing deeply. “She’s not worth it,” she whispers to Kara for her ears alone. “You’re better than this.”

Kara reluctantly lets go of Lillian’s wrist, who leaves with help from Astra. She pulls Larissa into a hug while Lena excuses herself to make a phone call, imagining how distraught she must be.

“My grandmother scares me,” Larissa whispers, sniffling as she buries her nose in Kara’s neck.

“I won’t let her harm you,” Kara replies, caressing Larissa’s back. “I’ll always protect you and your mother because I lo-” she swallows the rest of her words down, but then she thinks of how she’s speaking to a frightened child. “I love you both,” she finishes.

Lena observes from a distance how Kara is hugging her daughter. Her ex is still the sweet sunshine she remembers her to be. She takes a deep breath when her lawyer picks up. “Hello, I would like to request a restraining order against my mother,” she says, sure she wants it when she sees her daughter holding on to Kara like she’s a lifeline.

 


	14. Chapter 14

Kara flies through Alex’s window, inhaling the smell of baked potatoes, green beans and chicken. She sees her sister cringe when the triplets leave the table to run up to her and try to tackle her. “Hey, cutiepies,” she says, smiling widely.

Riley tugs at her aunt’s cape. “I want to fly,” she says, holding her arms up.

“I want to fly first,” Molly butts in, holding her arms up too.

Jamie hides her face in the cape and keeps her arms down.

“You do realize we actually have this magical thing called a front door, right?” Maggie says to Kara, sighing as she gets up from the table. “Girls, finish your dinner.”

“I know, but this is an emergency,” Kara says, eyes wide as she reveals a bunch of flowers.

Alex is up in an instant, rushing over to her sister to check if she is injured in any way. When she can’t find any injuries, she frowns. “What’s wrong?” she asks, nudging Kara towards her couch while her wife ushers their daughters back to the kitchen.

“I don’t know what these flowers mean and I need to know because Lena gave them to me and I can’t respond until I know,” Kara answers, practically pushing the flowers up to her sister’s face. “You have to help me, Alex!”

Alex chuckles and smiles at her wife who is chuckling too. “That’s your emergency?” she asks her sister.

“ _Alex_ ,” Kara whines, stretching her name out as she says it.

“Okay, so those are um…,” Alex says while she looks at the flowers. “Babe, a little help?” she asks her wife.

Ten minutes later Maggie is typing the names of the flowers into Google to find out what they mean while Alex and Kara are looking over her shoulders.

“The uh… purple hyacinths mean she’s asking you to please forgive her,” Maggie reads.

Kara takes a staggering breath. She understands why Lena would want to be forgiven, but her mind is too occupied with the guilt of the accident. There hasn’t been a right time yet to tell her ex she could have prevented it. She should be asking Lena for forgiveness, rather than the other way around.

“The lavender means devotion,” Maggie continues quirking an eyebrow. “And the morning glories mean just go visit Lena and ask her out already because you know you want to.”

Kara sighs, her lips curling up as she shakes her head. “Affection,” she reads, blushing. “I have to um…,” she says, gesturing vaguely as she staggers towards the window, “go shop.”

Maggie sighs and shuts the computer down. “This is going to take forever, isn’t it?” she asks her wife.

“Unfortunately,” Alex answers, sighing as well. “I hope she won’t get her heart broken again.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lena rarely takes a day off, or well, not at all. Today she did take a day off, deciding she wants to spend time with her daughter. It also has a little something to do with the fact that Astra isn’t available today to babysit.

“She can’t say no if we ask nicely, mama,” Larissa comments.

“We’ll see, sweetheart,” Lena replies, curling her fingers towards her palm before raising her hand to knock on Kara’s door.

“Hi!” Lyra says, flashing a smile. She grins at Lena, whose fist is mid-air. “Mommy, your gal pal is here.”

“Gal pal?” Lena asks, smirking as she raises a curious eyebrow.

Kara shows up at the door, face red. “Lyra Zor-El, what did I tell you about repeating words Lucy or Maggie use?” she asks, tapping her foot onto the floor. She sighs and puts on a smile when she faces Lena. “Hi, Lena,” she says, unsure if she should pretend she didn’t already hear what Lena wants to ask her.

“Hello, Kara,” Lena replies, a bit too formal for her taste, but it’ll do. “I will be home today and I was wondering if you’d need a babysitter. It would be no trouble for me to watch Lyra and Apollo.”

Even though Kara knew Lena’s question in advance, she’s not sure yet if she wants to say yes. Her children can be a handful and usually when she can’t watch them, she has her aunt watching them. She’s in a bit of a pickle today, having to go to CatCo.

“I understand if you’re not comfortable with that,” Lena says, second-guessing her decision to come up here.

Kara weighs her limited options. She could ask Harley to watch her children, but Lena deserves some trust, especially after she trusted her aunt with Larissa time and time again. “Okay,” she says, covering her ears at the sound of her daughter’s cheer.

Lyra flings her arms around Larissa’s neck, letting go the second Larissa makes a sound of pain.

“I’ll pick Lyra and Apollo up at your place tonight around six or seven,” Kara says to Lena, handing her son over. “If that’s okay?” she asks, reaching for her coat.

“Take as long as you need,” Lena answers, nodding.

“Maybe I can win a game of chess today,” Lyra says to Larissa.

“Maybe,” Larissa replies, smiling as she walks a bit faster. “But you won’t.”

“I will get you!” Lyra shouts, giggling as she runs after a giggling Larissa.

Lena walks a bit faster to keep up with them, smiling as the girls run into her house. She enters and shuts her door, carefully putting Apollo down.

It was a mistake because the second Apollo is on the floor, he starts flying up. He coos when he touches the ceiling.

“Oh my god,” Lena gasps, reaching her arms up while her heart races. Her eyes widen because she can’t get close enough to him and oh god, what if he falls and gets hurt? “Apollo, little angel, please come down, okay?”

Apollo smiles at Lena.

“Okay, little cutie,” Lena sighs. “The hard way it is,” she says, dropping her arms.

Lena goes to the kitchen and returns a minute later with a cookie in her hand. “If you come down, this cookie is all yours,” she says, holding the cookie up.

“I knew it!” Larissa shouts, pointing at Apollo. “They have powers!”

Lena is distracted by her daughter for a second, but that’s all it takes for Apollo to snatch the cookie from her hand.

“I’ll get him,” Lyra says, flying up to chase her brother.

“Larissa, my little darling,” Lena says, crouching down in front of her daughter. “It’s very important nobody knows Lyra and Apollo have powers, okay?”

“Don’t worry, mama,” Larissa replies, smiling. “I won’t tell anyone Supergirl has Superkids.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lucy catches Hope when she trips over one of the triplets’ shoes. “First time babysitting?” she asks, steadying Hope.

“You have perfect timing,” Hope replies, smiling a tad while she’s still holding on to Lucy. “Is it that obvious?”

“Judging from all the toys on the floor, the crayon drawings on the wall – for which Alex might kill you by the way - and the empty bags of chips – which Maggie won’t be happy about – I’d say so, yeah,” Lucy answers, smiling. She looks down at Hope’s hands, which are resting on her arms longer than they should.

Hope pulls her hands away when Lucy coughs. “I thought you all had to work until late?” she asks, searching under the sink for products to clean with.

“Check the top shelf of the cupboard,” Lucy mumbles. “They keep it out of the triplets’ reach,” she explains, leaning against the kitchen counter. “And yes, but I was able to leave earlier and I wanted to see how you were doing, so here I am,” she answers.

“That’s very thoughtful of you,” Hope replies, opening the cupboard. “You look like you work out a lot. Your work must be intense.”

“I work out all the time,” Lucy says, smiling as she catches Hope staring at her biceps. “I’m a black belt.”

“Wow, that’s impressive,” Hope says, approaching Lucy. “You should teach me something sometime, I could always use some self-defense,” she says, quieter, her smile falling.

“Hey,” Lucy says, frowning. “You okay?” she asks, taking a step towards Hope, but refraining from touching her.

“Yes,” Hope answers, offering Lucy a smile that doesn’t quite look like one. “I’m just tired, that’s all,” she says, shrugging.

“Here, let me give you a hand,” Lucy says, taking the cleaning products. “I’ll get the crayon off of the walls and you can hide the empty bags of chips. Alex and Maggie will never know this happened if I restock their chips before they’re back.”

“I’m a ninja!” Riley shouts, kicking her leg up as high as she can.

Lucy whistles. “You’re getting better, munchkin,” she says, holding her hand up to Riley’s height to see if she can reach it with a kick.

“She’s been saying she’s a ninja all day,” Hope says, smiling when Riley manages to kick Lucy’s hand. “Meanwhile Molly is a pirate and Jamie is a dinosaur.”

Lucy smiles when the triplets fling themselves around her legs. “Oh no,” she gasps, slowly lowering herself to the ground. “Soldier down,” she says, closing her eyes.

Hope laughs when Lucy scrambles back up to her feet the second the triplets tickle her. “You’re cute,” she whispers, looking away from Lucy as she tucks her hair behind her ear.

Lucy opens her mouth and closes it, unsure how to respond to that. She can be flirty by nature, but she’s not going to flirt with an eighteen year old girl. She’s thirty-two, almost twice Hope’s age. When she was her age, she often felt drawn to older women too. Well to be honest, she still does.

“Who wants to go on an adventure at sea?” Lucy asks the triplets, clapping her hands together. “How about you, matey?” she asks Molly, poking at her belly.

“Arrr,” Molly answers, attempting to squeeze one eye shut.

“Ahoy mateys, we found our captain,” Lucy says, scooping Molly up. She smiles when Jamie and Riley bolt after her, trying to reach the bathroom before she does.

“I want the ducks,” Jamie mumbles, making grabby movements with her hands.

 Lucy fills the tub and in no time, the triplets have wriggled themselves out of their clothes and into the bath. She jumps back when they splash water at her.

“It looks like we’re going to get wet,” Hope says to Lucy, lingering near her. “Not that I mind,” she adds, grabbing a towel to clean the water up from the floor.

Lucy holds her tongue, wondering if Hope is simply being flirty or if the girl is actually crushing on her. If it’s the first, it’s uncomfortable due to the age difference and if it’s the latter, she needs to figure out how to let her down gently.

Riley splashes water at Hope, causing her to shriek.

Hope sighs and grasps the hem of her shirt, lifting it over her head, revealing a pink bra. She wrings it out over the sink, winking at Lucy.

Oh hell no, Lucy didn’t sign up for this. Hope is a beautiful girl, sure, but she’s not a woman, not like… someone else she knows.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“I really appreciate you’ve watched them for me,” Kara says, relieved she finally managed to go home after Cat made her interview someone at the last minute around six.

“It was no effort, really,” Lena replies, smiling, although she’s exhausted. “Lyra and Apollo are angels,” she says, which is true, despite the fact that they raided her kitchen.

“That’s good to hear,” Kara says, nodding. “I was worried they might have caused some trouble,” she confesses, glancing at her son.

“Nothing I couldn’t handle,” Lena promises.

“Hi,” a guy in a red jacket says. “I have a letter for a Miss Luthor?”

“That would be me,” Lena answers, frowning. “Thank you,” she says when the guy hands her the letter.

“I’ll see you tomorrow or another time,” Kara says to Lena, taking her daughter’s hand and reaching for her son with the other. “Lena?” she asks quietly when her ex drops the letter after having read it.

“It’s my mother,” Lena whispers to keep her daughter from hearing. “She’s dragging me to court for a custody battle. She wants Larissa.”

 


	15. Chapter 15

“Jump!” Apollo shouts, grinning when his sister helps him to get onto the trampoline.

“Be careful with the fragile ones,” Ivy warns the children.

“She means little ones,” Kara says, casting a quick glance at Ivy with wide eyes. She knows damn well Ivy meant they should be careful with Larissa and the triplets.

Lena holds her breath when her daughter gets onto the trampoline. It would have been wrong to say no when Lilith personally invited Larissa, along with the other children in their neighborhood, to play on her new trampoline. She doesn’t want her daughter to feel left out, but she’d be lying if she’d say it doesn’t worry her other children might play too rough.

Lyra takes Larissa’s hands and jumps, flying a little bit to jump higher.

“When did Larissa find out?” Astra asks Lena, observing the children.

“Find out wha-” Lena falters when Astra cocks an eyebrow. “Apollo flew the day I was watching him and Lyra.”

Kara sighs audibly. “How much does she know exactly?” she asks, shifting from one foot onto the other.

“She knows,” Lena answers, leaving it at that.

“Hot stuff coming through,” Lucy says, holding a tray of freshly baked cookies. Even through the oven mittens, she can feel the heat.

“I can see that,” Astra says, wanting to take the tray from Lucy with her bare hands, but thinking better of it at the last moment.

Hope picks up a cookie, blowing her fingers. “They’re almost as hot as you,” she says to Lucy. She takes a step closer to Lucy, her eyes flitting up to meet hers before kissing her cheek.

Lucy abruptly takes a step back and pushes the tray into Astra’s hands. She walks back into the house, certain that Hope is doing more than being flirty.

Astra tenses, finding this situation almost as uncomfortable as it must be for Lucy.

“What the hell, Hope?” Jessica asks, ignoring her sister’s words to go easy on Hope. “Are you seriously flirting with someone our age again?”

“I’m not a child, Jessica,” Hope answers, blanching. “It’s not a crime to like someone.”

“Hold this for me,” Astra whispers to her niece, handing her the tray.

“Sure,” Kara replies, taking the tray.

Astra goes inside the house to look for Lucy, which is easy because she can hear her heart drumming in her chest. She winds up in the bathroom, where Lucy is sitting on the closed toilet seat.

“Hey, Star,” Lucy mumbles, looking up at Astra who shuts the door and leans against it. “Look at you, caring to check up on me. I’m flattered.”

“You are upset,” Astra replies, watching Lucy shiver.

“I don’t know how to let Hope know I’m not interested without hurting her feelings,” Lucy says, bringing her hands together.

“Sometimes you need to face the music and see how the tune plays out.”

“Who knew you could be so modern,” Lucy says, getting up and stalking towards the door. “I’d like to get some air for a bit,” she says, sighing. “You don’t happen to be interested in a flight, are you?”

“It depends,” Astra answers, letting Lucy step into her arms. “What do you propose?” she asks, running her hands down Lucy’s arms, settling them on her waist.

Lucy smirks and walks backwards to the window, prying it open. She watches Astra’s eyes widen for a split second before they turn back to their usual size as she climbs through the window. “Catch,” she whispers, leaping out of the window.

Astra hears Lucy grunt when she catches her, a few inches shy from the ground. “Never do that again,” she says, cradling Lucy close.

Lucy has her ear pressed against Astra’s chest, feeling how fast it’s beating. “I knew you’d catch me when I fall,” she says, bringing her arms up around Astra’s neck. “How long would it take you to fly to Paris?”

Astra lands on the ground, putting Lucy down. “You can run away after you’ve dealt with Hope,” she says, nudging Lucy towards the garden.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Kiera, tell Miss Luthor my company is not an on-sale flower shop,” Cat says, heels clicking on the floor.

“Yes, Miss Grant,” Kara replies, hurrying to clean her desk.

“Her taste seems to be improving, I’ll give her that,” Cat says, observing the various flowers.

Kara’s fingers are itching to look up what the flowers mean so she can figure out which flowers she wants to buy to respond. It’s been going on for a few weeks now, exchanging flowers back and forth. She’s been meaning to ask Lena out on a proper date rather than simply ask her to have lunch together, but so much has happened and it’s not a good time.

Lena has yet to hear that she was there when Jack got into that accident, that she could have prevented it. She can’t ask her out while that’s still in the unknown, especially not after the funeral and with the upcoming custody battle.

She knows Lillian is trying to get her hands on Larissa solely to hurt Lena. It’s mean and it’s low. If she had known in the past just how difficult Lillian Luthor is, she’d have been more lenient with Lena.

“Miss Grant?” Kara asks, fidgeting with her glasses. “Can I get some advice about something?”

“Five minutes,” Cat answers, gesturing at her office.

“I have this friend whom I care a lot about,” Kara begins, sitting down in Cat’s office. “She has a daughter and her mother is taking her to court to fight for custody. I don’t want my friend to lose her daughter.”

“Use your friend, what was it… Witt… Will?”

“Winn?” Kara asks, frowning.

“Use him to dig up dirt about Lillian,” Cat suggests. “Everyone has a past, everyone buries something. Find what she has buried and use it in court. In general, the court tries to keep children in custody of their biological parents as much as possible. If Lillian can’t provide anything that will seriously undermine Lena’s capacities as a mother, she can’t win custody.”

Kara sighs. Of course Miss Grants knows she’s talking about Lena. “But what if Lillian finds something?” she asks, not trusting that woman one bit.

Cat walks around her desk and scribbles something onto a piece of paper. “I recommend you seek her out,” she says, handing the paper to Kara. “She is an unconventional private investigator, but she’s the best.”

“Jessica Jones?” Kara asks, frowning. “I know her, she’s my new neighbor.”

“Tell her Miss Grant sent you, she’ll give you a discount.”

“Thank you, Miss Grant,” Kara replies, smiling in relief.

“Don’t just sit there,” Cat says, stalking back to her chair. “Your next article won’t write itself.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lena smiles as she joins Kara at the lunch table at Noonan’s. She has been cramped with work, but when her ex had walked into her office, inviting her to have lunch together, she found herself compelled to say yes. And so here she is, taking a lunch break.

“I’m definitely going to have a sticky bun or two,” Kara says, ogling the menu-card.

“Did you love your husband?” Lena asks, wanting to swallow her question down as soon as she spoke it.

“I uh…,” Kara whispers while putting the menu-card aside. She brought Lena here to offer her some sort of distraction, but she hadn’t planned on having to talk about Mon-El.

“You don’t need to answer that,” Lena says quickly.

“It is fine,” Kara replies, shaking her head with a small smile. “Things were different with Mon-El, but I did love him,” she says, sighing.

“Different how?” Lena asks, doubting it would be about the fact that Mon-El is a man instead of a woman. “And please, feel free to change the topic anytime you want to, I won’t hold it against you.”

“He was… different,” Kara answers, struggling to explain. “He was not…”

Lena shifts closer towards Kara, sitting on the edge of her seat. If she moves any closer, she might as well sit on the table or her ex’s lap. “Not…?” she asks, holding her breath.

Kara sighs and takes the menu-card, hiding her face behind it. “He was not you,” she murmurs. “But… but I loved him,” she clarifies. “Just, not in the same way,” she says, putting the menu-card down again. “I don’t think you can ever love the same way twice, you can’t love someone exactly the way you’ve loved someone else.”

“I would say I agree, although my opinion may be void,” Lena replies, wanting to say Kara is right. “In my life I’ve grown to realize I only love one person, one woman, romantically.”

“Love,” Kara repeats, swallowing hard. She already knew, but hearing Lena say it is different, it makes it more real.

“That’s the elephant in the room, isn’t it?” Lena asks, smiling. “I never loved Jack, but I felt something when he died. It wasn’t love. I think it was having to say goodbye to a piece of my life, even though it was a piece worth missing,” she explains, trying to make sense of it.

“He wasn’t good to you and to Larissa,” Kara says, ignoring the guilt that’s building inside of her. “You two deserve someone who loves you both, someone who cares about you both.”

“Likewise,” Lena replies, releasing a silent sigh. “You and your children deserve more than someone who abandons you,” she says, taking a deep breath. “I’m sorry I abandoned you ten years ago,” she apologizes, even though she already tried to do that through flowers.

“I forgive you, Lena,” Kara whispers, tearing up despite trying not to. “What happened wasn’t your fault. I know I told you how humiliated I felt, but I no longer want you to feel guilty over the past. Your mother forced you into a marriage and you pushed me away to protect me, while I should have fought harder for you and protected you.”

“I didn’t want my mother to take anything out on you,” Lena confesses. “You were always so sweet, such a sunshine. I didn’t want her hate to take your light away.”

“I understand that now, but as a future reference I’d like you to know I’m old enough to make my own decisions and to decide where I stand,” Kara says with a gentle tone. “Right now with everything you’re facing, I hope you know I’ll be right beside you, every step of the way.”

Lena laughs lightly, her eyes glazing over. “It feels good to hear that,” she whispers, feeling an ounce of relief. “I take it you won’t mind going to court with me? I could really… use a friend.”

“I’ll be there,” Kara promises, reaching for Lena’s hand over the table, clasping it in hers. “Nobody is going to take Larissa away.”

“I don’t know what I would do without you,” Lena whispers, feeling like Kara is the rock she needs. “You were there for my daughter and I when Jack passed and now you’re here for us again.”

Kara shudders, knowing she really needs to tell Lena the truth about the accident someday. “You’ll always have me,” she replies, pressing a kiss to her ex’s knuckles. “I… should order before I starve,” she says, chuckling nervously as she lets go of Lena’s hand.

 


	16. Chapter 16

“Here is the evidence,” Jessica says, sliding the photograph towards Kara.

Kara looks at it with wide eyes. “J’onn and Lillian?” she asks, surprised. For a moment it slips her mind she’s not supposed to mention J’onn.

“No, that’s not J’onn,” Jessica answers, showing Kara another photograph. “It’s Hank Henshaw. Lillian turned him into some sort of robot or whatever.”

“Like the one who attacked-”

“Catco,” Jessica interrupts, nodding. “Lillian was behind that attack, she wanted all copies of that magazine gone.”

“So it _was_ a homophobic thing,” Kara replies, not having expected that.

“There’s more,” Jessica continues, emptying the rest of the envelope. “Lillian runs an organization named Cadmus. It’s very fishy and very anti-alien,” she explains, showing more pictures.

Kara almost shuts her eyes at the sight of aliens in cages and being experimented on. She should have known about Cadmus and she should have stopped it.

“That woman hates your alter ego.”

“My alter ego?” Kara asks, frowning.

“I’m not going to play this oblivious game with you,” Jessica answers sharply. “Even a seven year old figured it out and I’m a private investigator.”

“Okay, fine,” Kara sighs. “How much do I owe you for all of this?” she asks, fishing her wallet out of her pocket.

She’s relieved that Jessica dug up plenty of dirt about Lillian, especially because Winn didn’t find anything. It’s unsure how Jessica did it, but she won’t question her ways. All that matters is that she has something that can help Lena in court.

“There’s this guy you work with,” Jessica answers, stopping Kara from taking money out of her wallet. “He’s been at your house a few times last week.”

“Oh, Winn,” Kara replies, nodding.

“My sister hasn’t shut up about your mystery friend,” Jessica explains, leaning back in her chair. “Get Trish a date with Winn and consider us even.”

“Are you serious?” Kara asks, raising both eyebrows. “Winn is going to be thrilled someone wants to go out with him and Trish is an attractive woman, so you’re basically doing me two favors.”

“I just want to see my sister happy, that’s all,” Jessica replies, shrugging.

“I’ll text him right now,” Kara promises, grabbing her phone.

“Keep an eye on Lillian in court, that woman’s a snake.”

Kara will beware of Jessica’s warning. With everything she knows she’d like to keep her further away from Lena and Larissa than she can throw her. If only J’onn would have said yes when she asked if he could let her throw Lillian into space and pretend like it never happened.

Her sister said no as well, telling her it has to happen the legal way. With the new knowledge she gained she wants to see Lillian behind bars. She needs to take this evidence to Lena and ask her if she’s okay with using it in court.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Mama, my socks are itching,” Larissa whispers, scratching her left heel with her right foot. “I don’t like this black dress and I’m tired.”

Lena kisses the crown of her daughter’s head. “I know you’re nervous and scared to go to court, sweetheart,” she replies softly, aware that Larissa would say anything to avoid going there. “No matter what happens today, I love you.”

Larissa sucks her bottom lip into her mouth and nods. She looks to her mother’s left, where Kara is standing.

“We have to go now,” Lena says, taking one of her daughter’s hands.

Kara feels Larissa’s small hand slipping into hers. It gives her a domestic feeling to walk down the streets with Lena while Larissa is walking in between them. She deliberately dropped Lyra and Apollo off at her aunt’s place. Her ex only needs her to be there.

Lena feels the weight of the envelope in her pocket, which Kara gave her half an hour ago. She hasn’t decided yet if she wants to use it in court or not. It’s not that she doesn’t want her mother to receive the punishment she deserves for her anti-alien crimes and her homophobic crimes, but she doubts if she wants to be the one to make that happen.

In the end, her mother is still her mother. It’s not easy to drag her own family through the dirt, even when it’s deserved. She might leave the evidence to someone else so they can see to it rather than using it to help her case.

“I hope we can go home soon,” Larissa whispers as they enter the building.

“I’ll be right back,” Lena says when she spots her lawyer.

Larissa pouts when her mother lets go off her hand.

“Hey,” Kara whispers, lifting Larissa up. She places the little girl on her hip, supporting her with one arm. “We’ll go back home soon, sweetie,” she says, smiling at her.

Larissa buries her face in Kara’s neck. “My grandmother is here,” she whispers in her ear.

Kara looks around, spotting Lillian easily. She steps behind a corner and listens in to a conversation Lillian is having with what appears to be a judge. Putting Larissa down for a moment, she keeps the little girl behind her while she takes her phone to snap a picture.

“The custody battle for Larissa Luthor is now in session,” the judge says. “Please be seated.”

Kara sits down next to Lena who has Larissa on her lap. She can tell her ex wouldn’t give up her daughter to the point where they’d have to pry her out of her cold dead hands.

The case begins with Lillian at the stand, who sums up reasons why Lena shouldn’t receive custody of Larissa, such as accusing her daughter of hitting her granddaughter.

Lena’s lawyer counters, mentioning the restraining order Lena had against her ex-husband to keep him from physically and emotionally abusing Larissa, as well as Lena having asked for a restraining order against Lillian, dated before this custody battle.

Kara holds Lena’s hand while she listens to the comments going back and forth. She hates how Lillian is making up lies to make Lena look unfit as a mother. Thankfully, Lillian lacks evidence to back up her lies, simply because it doesn’t exist.

Lena holds her heart when her daughter has to go up to the stand. She doesn’t trust her mother will go easy on her.

“Larissa Luthor, do you solemnly swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth?”

“Yes,” Larissa answers, sitting on a pillow so she can look out over the stand.

“Larissa, who do you want to live with?”

“I want to live with my mama and with Lyra.”

“Can you tell us who Lyra is?”

Larissa nods. “Lyra is Kara’s daughter,” she answers, pointing at Kara. “She’s my best friend.”

“How would you feel about living with your grandmother?”

Larissa stares with wide eyes at her mother’s lawyer and then at her grandmother.

“This is a safe space, Larissa,” Lena’s lawyer says. “You can tell us.”

“Luthors aren’t allowed to be scared,” Larissa mumbles. “But my grandmother scares me. She fights a lot with my mama.”

“Objection, your honor,” Lillian cuts in. “I did argue frequently with my daughter, though I assure you I’ve always had Larissa’s best interest at heart.”

Lena squeezes Kara’s hand with all her might, feeling like her mother is trying to manipulate everyone to eat out of her hand. This personal vendetta her mother has is tiring. She thinks of the envelope her ex gave her, but she refuses to stoop to her mother’s level, even if it’s with the truth.

She refuses to teach her daughter that playing dirty is how you get somewhere in life. A part of the dirt Jessica dug up about her mother per Kara’s request includes pieces of how her mother was allegedly abused herself as a child.  She’s not going to rip old wounds open.

Lillian bickers back and forth for a while with Lena’s lawyer, until all parties are fully heard.

Lena holds her breath as a decision is being made. “You’ve been so brave, my little darling,” she whispers in her daughter’s ear.

“Full custody will be assigned to Lillian Luthor,” the judge says, slamming his hammer down.

Lena gasps. She feels like her heart has just been slammed into a million tiny pieces, not understanding how they could make the decision to take her daughter away from her. Her heart breaks further when Larissa flings her arms around her neck, holding on so tight she can hardly breathe and she knows she’s not strong enough to bear having people pulling her daughter away from her.

Larissa’s sobs echo through the court when Lillian tries to take her away from her mother.

“Wait!” Kara shouts, clearing her throat when she notices everyone is staring. “Your honor, if I may have a minute,” she says impatiently, unable to listen to Lena’s and Larissa’s cries for another second or she’ll be bawling her eyes out, too.

“Ma’am, this case is closed,” the judge replies, visibly agitated.

“Please, it’s important,” Kara argues, walking up to the stand. She knows Lena wouldn’t pull her mother down, but that doesn’t mean she won’t. “I have evidence of Lillian Luthor handing money over to win this case,” she says, opening a photo on her phone.

“That is a ridiculous lie,” Lillian says. “Objection!”

“Overruled,” the judge replies while signaling at Lillian to settle down. He slams his hammer again. “Lillian Luthor, you will receive six months in prison until further notice. Lena Luthor, you may take your daughter home.”

Kara’s eyes are steel as Lillian glares at her while she’s being cuffed. She knows the fight isn’t over yet, but for now she won. She holds her chin up as she wraps Lena and Larissa protectively into her arms, hoping Lillian will understand she’ll never let her touch a hair on their heads.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Lena, there is something I need to tell you,” Kara whispers, sighing. “I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while now.”

“Okay,” Lena replies, sitting down. “I’m listening,” she says, now that Larissa is at Astra’s place to play with Lyra anyway.

“It’s about the day Jack got into that accident,” Kara begins, sitting down next to Lena. “I uh…the thing is… I was flying above the city that night. At some point I saw his car and realized he was about to run a red light. I should have done something because I knew he was going to collide with another car, but I froze and didn’t do anything. I could have prevented the accident, but I let it happen, and then I took him to the hospital, but it was too late,” she blurts out.

“I know you were there,” Lena whispers, exhaling audibly. “I’ve known all along.”

“Oh,” Kara whispers, scooting to the side, a bit further away from Lena.

“Kara,” Lena says, moving over to sit closer to her. “I don’t blame you,” she says, placing her hand on Kara’s knee. “Jack was at fault. He was an adult who got drunk and got behind the wheel.

Kara nods slowly, although she still feels like it was partially her fault. “I should go home,” she says, sighing.

Lena doesn’t let go of Kara’s hand and she’s relieved her ex isn’t trying to pull away from her. “Stay over tonight, please,” she whispers, thinking how their children will stay at Astra’s place tonight anyway. “I don’t want to be alone.”

Kara’s shoulders slump. Rejecting Lena has never been one of her powers. “Okay,” she caves in, slumping back onto the couch. “I’ll sleep here, it feels comfortable enough and I wouldn’t want you to abandon your bed.”

“Don’t be silly, I wouldn’t abandon my bed,” Lena replies, smiling at Kara. “You could always sleep in Larissa’s bed.”

Kara chuckles and smiles back at Lena. “Uhuh, I really believe that’s what you were going to suggest,” she says, feeling a weight drop from her shoulders.

“Well, I do have extra space in my bed and it happens to be much more comfortable than the couch.”

“I call dibs on the side near the window.”

Lena gasps at that. “You can’t call dibs, it’s my bed,” she replies, poking Kara’s side. “Besides, that side is mine.”

“Was yours.”

 


	17. Chapter 17

Lucy swings her hips from side to side as she enters Astra’s house. Music is blasting through her earphones. “You’ve got my head spinning, no kidding, I can’t pin you down,” she sings. “What’s going – hey,” she objects when Astra turns her music off.

“It would be interesting to see you try,” Astra says, smirking.

“I won’t knock down a challenge,” Lucy replies, gripping Astra’s wrists and pressing her against the wall. “Maybe I can’t pin you down, but at least I got you pinned against the wall.”

Astra switches their positions before Lucy can blink. “You were saying?” she asks, flitting her eyes down to Lucy’s hands, which are now on her waist.

Lucy hums when Astra caresses her cheek. A while back she had the frustrating task of having to explain to Hope they can’t be more than friends, who didn’t take it well. She frowns when she hears noises coming from the living room.

“Lyra, Larissa and Apollo are staying over tonight,” Astra explains without Lucy needing to ask. “Apollo is sleeping and I was planning on tucking the girls in right as you entered.”

“Oh, okay,” Lucy replies, nodding. “I got a text from Kara earlier, saying Lena won custody. She’s with her then?”

“I believe so,” Astra answers, backing away from Lucy.

“While you put the girls to sleep, I’ll pick a movie for us,” Lucy says, walking over to the living room.

“How kind of you to ask,” Astra replies. She smiles when Lucy rolls her eyes. “Girls, time to sleep.”

Lyra takes Larissa’s hand and runs upstairs with her. “Don’t forget our bedtime story,” she whispers once she’s upstairs.

Astra quietly tiptoes upstairs to tell a bedtime story.

Lucy skims through romantic movies, attempting to find the cheesiest one so she can taunt Astra with it. “I saved you a seat,” she says when Astra is back downstairs, pointing at her lap. “You owe me a trip to Paris,” she whispers, although no promise was made.

Astra takes Lucy’s hand and pulls her up, guiding her outside her house. She presses her forehead against Lucy’s. “Hold on,” she says, putting her hands on Lucy’s waist.

Lucy brings her arms up around Astra’s neck, smiling when Astra flies up. Two seconds later, they’re on top of the roof. “So many stars in the sky,” she whispers. “Yet none is as beautiful as you are, Star.”

“I am forty-eight,” Astra whispers, waiting for Lucy’s reaction.

“I’m jealous of your genes because you hardly look older than I do,” Lucy replies, slightly surprised by Astra’s age. She had no idea the gap is sixteen years, but it doesn’t change anything. “It doesn’t bother me,” she says, shrugging her shoulders. “Does it bother you?”

“I cannot start a family with someone,” Astra says, thinking realistically.

“You babysit lots of children, I’d say you already have a big family,” Lucy points out. “No need in having kids of your own. I never planned to have any either, I’m happy with babysitting from time to time.”

Astra nods and gazes up at the sky.

Lucy shuffles a bit closer towards Astra. “Look, I’ll just be blunt here,” she whispers, smiling when Astra’s raises an eyebrow. “It sounded like you’re suggesting the possibility of the two of us and if that’s the case I’d say it’s about time. If it’s not the case, we can pretend I never said anything. I’ve been into you for a long time, Star, and-”

Astra’s hands are in Lucy’s hair as she kisses her, running her tongue over her bottom lip.

Lucy doesn’t hesitate to kiss Astra back, sighing into her mouth. “Hot damn,” she whispers, feeling hands roam down her body. “I’m so going to marry you someday.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lena is lying down, facing Kara. It reminds her of ten years ago, when they used to share a bed all the time. “I missed this,” she whispers quietly, sighing.

Kara cuddles up closer, running her fingers through Lena’s hair. “Me too,” she whispers, wishing she could kiss Lena and pick up where they left off ten years ago, but that would be too rash. She should start with asking her out on a proper date.

Lena gets goosebumps as Kara hooks a leg behind hers. She smiles when her ex holds her, just like old times. “I’m relieved today worked out well,” she whispers, having been so afraid she’d have lost her daughter. “When that judge assigned custody to my mother… it was a living nightmare.”

“I would never let anyone take Larissa from u- you,” Kara replies, stroking Lena’s hair. She bites her bottom lip, hoping her ex didn’t hear her slip up.

“I know,” Lena breathes out, trusting Kara. “What you did for us today meant a lot.”

“It’s what friends do,” Kara sighs, wanting to be much more.

“You are our hero, Kara,” Lena whispers, bringing her arms around Kara to hold her. “You protected o- my family, in more ways than one.”

“I’ll always protect those I… care about,” Kara replies thoughtfully. By the sound of Lena’s heartbeat speeding up she can tell they both know that’s not what she was going to say.

“Goodnight, Kara,” Lena whispers.

“Goodnight, Lena.”

They both make a move to kiss each other’s cheek, but end up kissing the corner of each other’s mouth. The surprise in their matching wide eyes only lasts a second before they both resume their cuddling position to sleep.

The next morning, Kara wakes up in an empty bed. She frowns and gets up, her nostrils filling with the smell of pancakes. In a wink, she’s downstairs, watching Lena dancing through her kitchen.

“Good morning,” Kara chuckles, happy to see Lena happy.

“Good morning, Kara,” Lena replies, smiling. “Dance with me,” she says, grasping her hand.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you’re still a horrid dancer,” Kara teases.

Lena gasps. “I am not horrid,” she replies, although she knows she is.

Kara spins Lena away from her and gently pulls her back, pressing her close against her chest. “You always look gorgeous in the mornings,” she whispers, brushing her ex’s hair aside to kiss her neck.

Lena closes her eyes, wanting to pause this moment and live in it forever. It all feels so familiar, as if the last ten years didn’t happen, like they’re picking up where they left off.

“How would you feel about going somewhere today with our children?” Kara asks, having an idea. “I mean, you know, your daughter and my daughter,” she clarifies. “Apollo is too young so I think I’ll leave him with my aunt.”

“Hmm, I did take today off,” Lena whispers, thinking. She took today off in advance to give herself and her daughter some time together after the whole court thing. “What do you have in mind?”

“Ice skating,” Kara answers, looking forward to it.

“Oh no,” Lena replies, groaning. “You know I have poor balance on ice,” she reminds Kara. In the years they’ve spent apart, she hasn’t gone ice skating once. “Larissa can’t ice skate either.”

“I’ll hold your hand,” Kara assures Lena. “And I’m sure Lyra will be happy to help Larissa.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

“You can do it, Larissa,” Lyra says, waving her over to the ice. “It’s easy.”

“For you,” Larissa replies, gawking at Lyra who is doing pirouettes on the ice.

Lyra smiles and skates over to Larissa, taking her hands. “You can hold on to my arm or my shoulders if you want to,” she offers.

“Don’t go too fast, Lyra,” Kara warns, knowing her daughter well.

“I won’t, mommy,” Lyra promises.

Lena slowly sets foot on the ice, immediately missing the steadiness of the ground. She wobbles, but is caught by Kara.

“I got you,” Kara says, steadying Lena.

“You still know how to make my knees weak,” Lena says, laughing lightly as she looks down at her shaking legs.

Kara bites her lips and blushes. “Are you ready?” she asks, grasping Lena’s hand as tightly as she can without hurting her.

“No,” Lena answers. She doesn’t liking how slippery the ice is underneath her.

“Good,” Kara replies, grinning as she starts skating.

“Kara!” Lena shrieks, flailing her arms around until she crashes against Kara. “Well, hello,” she whispers, finding herself pressed up closely against her ex.

Kara smiles. “Dork,” she whispers, shaking her head. She skates away and lands a double, winking at Lena.

“Show off,” Lena mumbles. She skates to go after Kara, but ends up losing her balance.

Kara rushes towards Lena, gliding over the ice, but she’s too late.

Lena falls down, accidentally pulling Kara down with her. She places her hand wrong in her attempt to break her fall and winces when she hears her bone crack.

“Lena,” Kara gasps, wincing at the sound as well. She carefully lifts Lena up and guides her off of the ice.

“My wrist,” Lena whispers, cradling it to her chest. “I broke my wrist.”

“We have to go to Lili,” Lyra says, joining her mother and Lena off the ice with Larissa. “My girlfriend can heal your wrist.”

Lena isn’t surprised at all to hear Lilith has powers, considering Ivy is her mother and she has the whole plant and flower thing, but she didn’t think she would have healing powers.

Kara is so worried she ends up carrying Lena all the way to Ivy’s house, even though her legs are fine. It’s not okay how her ex got hurt on her watch when she was supposed to look out for her. She would never forgive herself if serious harm would come to Lena.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Astra says nothing while she waits for her niece and Lena to return from work as she keeps an eye on Lyra and Larissa.

“Do they really have to know?” Lyra asks, making herself small as she wraps her arms around her pulled up knees.

“Yes,” Lucy answers sternly. “What you two did is dangerous.”

“We are sorry,” Larissa says, hanging her head down.

Lena is the first to walk in, followed closely by Kara. She looks at her daughter and her first instinct is to hug her and comfort her, but she can’t do that right now. Playing bad cop has always been difficult for her to do.

“Lyra Zor-El,” Kara says, keeping from shouting, though she sounds angry. “What were you thinking to go flying with Larissa?” she asks, disappointed. It’s a relief her aunt and Lucy caught them before they could get far.

“I wanted to show Larissa how fun it is,” Lyra answers, avoiding her mother’s eyes.

“You could have been seen,” Kara points out. “Something very bad could have happened. You know you’re not supposed to use your powers, especially not outside the house.”

“Yes, mommy,” Lyra whispers, sniffling.

“Larissa,” Lena whispers, kneeling down in front of her daughter. “I was really worried about you,” she says, lifting Larissa’s chin up to look into her eyes. “You can’t frighten me like that, okay?”

“I won’t do it again, mama,” Larissa replies, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.

Kara sighs, recalling how hysterical Lena was on their way here. A lot of bad things could have happened. Enemies could have targeted their children. Larissa could have fallen if Lyra didn’t have a good hold on her.

“You are grounded for a month,” Kara says to her daughter, needing to be strict to ensure it doesn’t happen again. “During that month you’re not allowed to see Lilith or your other friends and you won’t get any ice cream for dessert.”

Lena raises her eyebrows, not having expected Kara to give Lyra that kind of punishment. She thought her ex had a really soft heart and would have grounded Lyra for a week. Once again, Kara is stronger than she is.

“No, mommy,” Lyra whimpers.

“Larissa, you are grounded for a week,” Lena says, unable to get it over her heart to punish her daughter more than that. To be honest, she’d be okay with letting it slide because she’s relieved Larissa is unharmed, both girls are.

“Mommy,” Lyra whines. “Why do I get grounded for a month when Larissa only gets grounded for a week? That’s not fair.”

“Because you are my child,” Kara answers, sighing. “If you behave I’ll unground you in two weeks,” she promises. “Now, go to your room.”

“Damn,” Lucy mumbles, handing Astra some money. “I really thought Kara was going to play the good cop.”

 


	18. Chapter 18

Alex kisses her daughters’ forehead and tucks the blanket over them. She wishes they would stay little forever, but that won’t happen. It warms her heart how much they get along. She walks out of their bedroom and closes the door, leaving a nightlight on for Jamie.

Jamie was born last, twenty minutes after Molly was born and sixty-six minutes after Riley was born. She has fears her sisters don’t seem to have, such as fear of heights and fear of the dark. No matter which side Molly or Riley sleep on, Jamie always sleeps in the middle.

“Hey, Gertrude,” Alex whispers. She pets her dog that is curled up on the couch next to her sleeping wife.

Recently, she’d caved in and agreed to adopt a dog. It’s been worth it because Maggie and her girls love that mutt, and so does she.

Gertrude wiggles her tail and pushes her face against Alex’s hand.

“That’s my girl,” Alex says, petting Gertrude behind her ears.

Maggie stirs and cracks her eyes open. “Hey, babe,” she whispers, rubbing her eyes.

“Let’s get you to bed,” Alex says, putting her arms around her wife.

“Work has been kicking my ass,” Maggie mumbles, yawning. “Join me?”

Alex kisses her wife and slips her hands under her shirt. She’s about to take this into the bedroom when there’s a knock on their door. Sighing, she drops her hands. “I’ll get it,” she whispers, pecking Maggie’s lips. “You go ahead to bed, I’ll be right there.”

Maggie mumbles something incoherent and stalks towards their bedroom.

Alex swings the door open. “Lena,” she says, blinking to make sure she’s right.

“I apologize for disturbing you this late,” Lena says, wringing her hands.

“What can I do for you?” Alex asks, sighing.

“I need your help,” Lena answers, smiling weakly when Alex nods at her to come in. “It’s about Kara.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lucy is sitting on the steps in front of Astra’s door, sighing as she watches Hope getting into a taxi. She spoke with Trish earlier, who said Hope decided to take a vacation to clear her head. It doesn’t change the fact that she feels like she chased Hope away, but it wasn’t like she could pretend as if there could ever be something between them.

“How are you feeling, dear one?” Astra asks, joining Lucy on the steps.

“A little cold,” Lucy answers, smiling weakly. “I should probably get inside to help you watch the children,” she says, sighing as she gets up. “If you’d charge money for babysitting, you’d be earning a lot of money.”

“Love is the only payment necessary,” Astra replies, lacing her fingers together with Lucy’s.

“Look at you being all sappy and soft,” Lucy whispers. She kisses Astra neck, then her cheeks and lastly her lips. “Especially soft,” she adds, winking. “The last few nights with you were-”

“Not for children’s ears,” Astra interrupts.

“Right,” Lucy nods, keeping her lips sealed. Kara would definitely not be happy if Lyra would overhear her talking about her sexcapades with Astra. “I admire you for what you do,” she says, impressed by how often Astra watches over ten children on her own. “You’d have been a wonderful mother.”

“I did want children in the past,” Astra shares, her lips curling down for a second before she pulls them back into a tight line. “It is something I learned to bury and when I had the opportunity to watch over other people’s children, the hole inside my chest began to close up.”

“Star,” Lucy whispers, pulling her into a hug. She didn’t know Astra had been carrying that kind of burden with her. “I want you to know that no matter which decision you make in the future, I’ll support you. Whether we’d have no children or ten of our own,” she says sincerely.

Astra quirks an eyebrow. “You would have ten children with me?” she asks, feeling slightly humored.

“Sure, we’d have our own personal little army,” Lucy answers, smiling. “Anyway, my point is, you never have to bury a piece of yourself because I’m in love with every piece of you and if you’d want a child, there are ways to make that happen.”

“But maybe not that way,” Lucy adds, chuckling when she catches Astra glancing at her stomach.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Kara flies over the city, waiting for instructions on where she needs to go. She tunes in to the sounds in the city, but she’s not sure what she’s looking for and she doesn’t hear anything strange. A little while ago she saved a family, whose car was on the edge of the bridge, threatening to fall down.

“Supergirl,” her earpiece crackles.

“Yes, Alex?” Kara asks while keeping her eyes peeled.

“You need to go to the corner of west and sixth.”

“I’m on it,” Kara replies, picking up speed. “Any updates on what we’re dealing with?”

“We…..  signal….”

“Alex?” Kara asks, frowning as her sister’s voice comes through in bits and pieces.

“Can’t… you.”

Kara sighs. There must be something wrong with the signal. She reaches the given address and lands with a soft thud. It’s an old building with no houses nearby. The paint has partially come off. If anything, this must be abandoned, which would make it a perfect spot for a criminal.

She tries to look through it, groaning when she can’t. “Lead,” she mumbles.

“I can’t see you, but I can hear you!” Kara calls out, hearing one heartbeat.

Through the roof of the building, she enters, landing in a kneeled position. She frowns, spotting a staircase. Not that a staircase is odd, but it is a little odd that each step has a red rose atop of it.

Kara takes the stairs step by step, picking the roses up one by one. With each step, the heartbeat sounds closer and more familiar. She reaches the top, eyes widening when she sees Lena standing there, clad in a black dress which flatters her curves.

Lena glances at the generous handful of red roses in Kara’s hands. “Aw, you shouldn’t have,” she says, smiling while her eyes sparkle.

Kara chuckles. She realizes that her sister must have tricked her to get her here. “What is this?” she asks, taking a look around.

There’s a hot-tub in the middle of the space. Close to it there’s a blanket with a bottle of wine, two wine glasses and a plate filled with strawberries dipped in chocolate.

“A date,” Lena answers, raising an eyebrow. “Can’t you tell?”

“I can, but I was trying to deny it because I’ve been meaning to ask you out,” Kara confesses. Her cheeks redden when Lena unzips her dress. “Wh-what… are you d-doing?” she asks, gulping when her ex’s dress pools at her feet, revealing red lingerie. Oh Rao have mercy.

“I’m getting ready to get in the hot-tub,” Lena answers, stepping towards Kara. “You’re overdressed.”

“Oh Rao,” Kara moans.

_“I’m happy for you two, but please turn your earpiece off, Kara.”_

Kara blushes and quickly turns it off so her sister doesn’t have to hear her talk anymore. “Give me a second,” she says, taking some distance from Lena. She puts the roses aside so she can put them in a vase later.

Lena watches how Kara spins quickly. It’s always fascinating to see how fast her ex can get changed. “Cute undies,” she says, smirking at the sight of Kara’s Supergirl underwear.

“If I had known about this date I’d have dressed better,” Kara replies, feeling her blush stretching out to her neck.

“It wouldn’t have been a surprise if I had told you,” Lena says, holding a hand out. “Shall we?”

Kara nods and accepts Lena’s hand to get in the tub with her. “This is a wonderful surprise,” she says, ogling the strawberries as she licks her lips.

Lena picks up the plate and puts it on the edge of the tub. Once they’re in the tub, she feeds one of the strawberries to Kara. “I know this location may seem a bit odd, but it’s remote and private,” she says, having tried her best to make it romantic. Romancing someone isn’t her strong suit because she’d only end up drowning Kara’s office with flowers.

“It’s perfect,” Kara replies, smiling. “It doesn’t matter where this date takes place as long as it’s with you.”

“You haven’t lost your charm,” Lena whispers, thinking back of the past when Kara wriggled her way into her heart with her natural charm.

“Is it just me or does the past ten years feel surreal, like we were just in a slumber and now we’re waking up again?”

“It’s not just you,” Lena replies, feeling it as well. “During the ten years we were apart, I often thought of you and felt tempted to seek you out, but I figured you had your own life and I didn’t want to cause you more pain than I already had.”

“Lena,” Kara says softly, taking her hand. “A lot has happened in the past and it is what it is. Right now, we can write our future together.”

Lena takes a deep shaky breath. “I have always loved you, Kara Zor-El,” she confesses from the bottom of her heart. “When I wake up in the morning, I wish to see your beautiful face and when I go to sleep at night, I dream you’re right next to me.”

“I love you, too, Lena,” Kara replies, leaning in to cup her cheeks. “Before we started dating all those years ago, I liked you because according to my statistics we were ninety-three percent compatible,” she says, never having told Lena this before. “As time went on, I realized those statistics meant nothing because I am two-hundred percent in love with you.”

Lena raises an eyebrow. “I usually score higher,” she teases, laughing when Kara splashes water at her.

“Love isn’t based on math or science, although I’d say it’s based quite a bit on chemistry,” Kara says, smiling. “Are you made out of-”

“Dork,” Lena cut Kara off, feeling at ease.

Their lips almost brush, only a breath apart.

“I want to do this right this time,” Lena whispers, afraid she’ll somehow mess things up again and lose Kara all over again.

“We’re in this together,” Kara replies, kissing Lena’s cheek.

Lena runs her thumb over Kara’s bottom lip, gazing into her eyes. She presses their lips together, pouring years of love into their kiss. After ten long years, she feels like she’s finally coming home.

Kara straddles Lena’s lap and deepens their kiss, exploring every crevice of her mouth with her tongue. All of the guilt and the sadness of the past fade away as they move in sync, chasing each other’s lips.

Lena tastes a mixture of strawberries and chocolate and Kara’s tongue as she sucks lightly on her tongue. She moans when Kara nips at her bottom lip.

Kara speeds out of the building and returns five seconds later with a mattress. She chuckles when Lena raises an eyebrow. “It’s not what you think,” she says, helping Lena out of the tub. “I figured it would be more comfortable this way.”

“Mhmm,” Lena hums, agreeing as she pulls Kara down on the mattress with her. She wants to take this slow, but kissing Kara feels so good and turns her on so much it’s tempting to get carried away. It seems like she’s not the only one who feels that way.

Kara kisses Lena’s neck and pushes one of the straps of her bra down, kissing her shoulder and her collarbone. “Can I?” she asks, pausing at Lena’s bra.

Too wound up to speak, Lena nods. She lets her head fall back as Kara unclasps her bra. When Kara takes one of her nipples into her mouth, she smiles, barely remembering the last time intimacy felt so good.

“Let me,” Kara says when Lena tries to sit up.

Lena doesn’t object and falls back onto the mattress, allowing Kara to take control. Every nerve ending in her body is on fire as Kara kisses a path from the valley of her breasts down to her ankles.

 


	19. Chapter 19

Maggie secures Jamie’s helmet and helps her onto her pink bicycle.

“You can do it!” Lyra shouts to encourage her cousins.

Alex holds her thumb up at Kara and Lena, who are standing at one end of their street to keep an eye on possible traffic, and then at Astra and Lucy who are covering the other end of their street. She helps Molly onto her bicycle while Riley insists to do it herself.

“Okay, munchkins,” Maggie says, holding on to Jamie’s bicycle. “We’re going to try this, slowly.”

Riley puts her feet on the pedals and wobbles a little bit as she moves her legs. She has hardly made it five pedals further when she falls. “I’m fine!” she shouts, climbing back onto her bicycle.

“That’s my baby girl,” Alex says proudly.

“She’s our apple which didn’t fall far from the tree,” Maggie says, smiling.

“I’m scared,” Jamie mumbles.

“It’s going to be okay, baby,” Maggie says. “I’m going to hold on and I won’t let go until you can do this all by yourself.”

“Wait for me!” Molly shouts at Riley.

“Bike!” Apollo giggles, clapping his hands together. “I want to wide a bike, mommy,” he says, pulling at Kara’s pants. “Pollo big.”

“My heart,” Lena whispers, smiling as she holds a hand to her chest. “He’s so cute I could eat him up.”

“You have to grow a little bit more, sweetie,” Kara says to her son.

“Pollo wide bike now,” Apollo replies, pouting.

“I’ll get you a bike tomorrow,” Kara promises, thinking about buying a balance bike so he can start with that.

“Riley is going for the finish line!” Lucy shouts, trying to sound like a sports announcer. “Molly is on her heels and Jamie is pedaling in the back, pushed by Maggie! This is going to be close, folks!”

Astra’s eyes widen when Lucy takes her shirt off to use it as a flag, leaving the younger woman clad in a sports bra.

“What is that?” Lucy continues. “It is Jamie! Pedaling away from Maggie!” she shouts, smiling when she catches Riley and Molly deliberately slowing down to let Jamie pass them. “Yes!” she shouts, waving her shirt when Jamie reaches her first. “We have a winner, ladies and tiny adorable gent!”

“Those are our girls,” Maggie whispers to her wife.

“I am proud of them, too,” Alex replies, smiling. She’s relieved that for once, Riley and Molly weren’t acting as if it was a competition when it sort of was this time. It is sweet to see them doing something nice for their youngest sister.

“We have a champion, my friends!” Lucy sing-songs as she lifts Jamie up to put her on her shoulders. “She kept on pedaling to the end!”

“I believe this is the end for my ears,” Astra says, bringing her hands up to them.

“Oh, shut up,” Lucy replies, smirking. “You know you love me,” she says, leaning in to kiss Astra.

“Umm… what?” Kara asks, looking confused between her aunt and her best friend.

“They’re dating,” Maggie says dryly to Kara. “Keep up, little Danvers.”

“That… okay… wow,” Kara replies, trying to wrap her mind around it. “I’m not going to call you aunt,” she says to Lucy, just for the record.

“While we’re at it, we might as well say we know you and Lena are dating, too,” Maggie blurts out.

“Sawyer,” Alex says, elbowing her wife.

“You two are together?” Larissa asks, eyes wide and curious as they shift from Kara to her mother.

“I was going to tell you, sweetheart,” Lena answers, sighing. “I promise.”

Kara’s hands fly to her ears when Lyra and Larissa release a high-pitched squeal that has even Lena covering her ears.

“We’re sisters!” Larissa yells, flinging her arms around Lyra’s neck.

“This is the best day ever!” Lyra shouts, hugging Larissa softly.

“Um… our daughters seem to take it well,” Kara says to Lena.

“… Yeah,” Lena replies, face pale.

“Oops,” Maggie says awkwardly.

Larissa wraps her arms around Kara’s legs and smiles up at her. “You’re not an evil stepmother like those in books are,” she says, still smiling.

“I am deeply sorry if all of this is making you uncomfortable,” Lena apologizes to Kara.

“Nonsense, I don’t mind,” Kara replies, smiling at Larissa. “I’m lucky. I get to have a little prince, two little princesses and a queen.”

“This is why I love you,” Lena whispers, feeling better now that Kara is taking this so well. It’s a bit spooky for her because it’s suddenly happening so fast, but she’s scared in a good way, not a bad way.

Kara kisses Lena’s cheek, not having discussed public displays of affection with her yet. “I’m going to talk with my aunt for a little bit,” she says, excusing herself.

Astra nods and flies away with her niece to a more remote location. “Lucy is your best friend,” she says, looking at Kara.

“Yeah, but that’s not really why I wanted to talk to you,” Kara replies, pacing around before settling down. “You can date whoever you want,” she says, smiling.

Astra sits down next to her niece and waits.

“How compatible are you with Lucy?” Kara asks curiously. She knows her aunt always valued their Kryptonian ways and for years, she thought Astra wouldn’t even want to be with anyone after she lost Non.

Astra’s lips curl up into a smile. “Fifty-six percent,” she answers, gazing up at the sky.

Kara’s lips part in surprise. She had expected to hear a much higher percentage, given Kryptonians don’t get involved with someone when the percentage is low. “You love her,” she says, not asking.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Congratulations,” Jessica says, raising her bottle of beer. “I’ll be drinking to that.”

“You always find a reason to drink, Jess,” Ivy says, smirking at her old friend.

“I wouldn’t pass up free beer either,” Lucy says, reaching for a bottle.

“She gets it,” Jessica says. She clinks her bottle against Lucy’s and winks at her.

“Cheers,” Lucy mumbles.

“I’m so happy for you,” Kara says, hugging Harley. “You look amazing,” she says as she pulls back, holding Harley at an arm’s length.

“She’s right,” Lena agrees, nodding. “You’re glowing.”

“How far along are you?” Maggie asks Harley.

“Almost six months,” Harley answers, holding a hand to her stomach.

“Six months?” Alex repeats with wide eyes. “You look like you’re hardly three months pregnant.”

“When I was six months pregnant I was a balloon,” Maggie mumbles, but she knows it’s different because she had triplets.

Lucy takes a swig from her bottle, noticing the sad glint in Astra’s eyes. She makes a mental note to speak with her later. “Have you chosen any names yet?” she asks Harley and Ivy.

“We did,” Harley answers, smiling at her wife.

“We are going to name our son Vladimir,” Ivy reveals.

“Kid number eleven for Astra to babysit,” Maggie says, shaking her head. “You might as well become a fulltime babysitter,” she says to Astra.

“You’re going to have a baby brother just like me,” Lyra says to Lilith.

Kara looks away when her daughter kisses Lilith. She’s trying to be understanding, but she can’t shake her concern that Lyra is growing up too fast. It’s all innocent little pecks and hugs, though that could change as her daughter ages.

Lena places her hand at the small of Kara’s back, leaning into her side.

“Is he going to have any powers?” Larissa asks Harley.

“Ya he might,” Harley answers, smiling as her son kicks.

“I can’t wait,” Leslie says, grinning. “We’ll have another special person in our neighborhood.”

“I don’t have any powers,” Larissa says, shaking her head. “I’m not special.”

“Sure you are, kid,” Leslie replies, patting Larissa’s head. “Most of us ain’t got half the brain you and your mother have, you’re plenty special.”

“Yeah,” Sydney chimes in. “You always beat us at chess.”

“You even beat me and R’gann and we’re older than you,” Morgan says.

“Thank you,” Lena mouths to Leslie when her daughter smiles.

“Juise,” Apollo coos when Ivy hands him a sippy cup with orange juice.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lena wakes up in Kara’s arms, finding her already awake. “Good morning, you,” she whispers, smiling.

“Good morning to you, too, gorgeous,” Kara replies quietly.

“I love this,” Lena whispers, sighing contently, “waking up in your arms.”

“Mhmm,” Kara hums. She’s been awake for almost an hour and she’s done nothing but watch Lena sleep. “I’ll get up and I’ll make you some breakfast.”

“Not yet,” Lena replies, grasping Kara’s wrist.

Kara kisses her girlfriend, feeling blessed that they’ve been back together for two months now, two heavenly months where they haven’t spent as much as one night apart.

Over the weeks, Lena has been bringing more of her clothes to Kara’s place, to make it easier to get dressed in the mornings. Larissa has a bed in Lyra’s bedroom and always listens along to Kara’s bedtime stories.

“I’ve been thinking,” Kara says when Lena breaks their kiss.

“Okay,” Lena replies, frowning. “I’m listening.”

“It’s nothing bad,” Kara says with a smile, hoping to calm Lena’s nerves. “I want to ask you and Larissa to move in with me,” she explains, having put a lot of thought into it.

Lena’s jaw drops, a little speechless.

“You never sleep at your place anymore and it seems silly for you to have a house when you could live in mine,” Kara continues. “I know it’s early, but it would be silly not to take this step and I believe we can do this.”

“Early is a light way to put it,” Lena replies, feeling a bit overwhelmed. “It’s been two months and giving up my house is a big step,” she says thoughtfully. “Realistically, if something would go wrong, I can’t be out on the streets with my daughter.”

“I understand your concern,” Kara says, nodding. She knew in advance Lena might say such things. “If it helps, I was going to suggest my house can be our house, as in legally, on paper.”

“You really did think about this,” Lena whispers, sighing.

Kara nods, sucking her lips into her mouth. “If you say no, it’s okay, I still want to continue what we have no matter where you live,” she says, taking both of Lena’s hands. “It’s an open offer.”

Lena takes a deep breath and smiles, although she’s more nervous than she’d admit. “I’m willing to give it a try and take the leap,” she decides.

When the door opens, they both turn to look.

“Pollo wake,” Apollo says, flying into the bedroom. He giggles when Lena catches him. “Mama wake!” he shouts, waving at Larissa who is standing at the door.

“Lena, I…,” Kara says, shaking her head, having heard Lena gasp. “I think he picked it up from Larissa calling you mama.”

“Mommy, Pollo hungwy,” Apollo whines, reaching for his mother.

“Good morning, sweetie,” Kara says, smiling as she signals at Larissa to come in.

Larissa ducks her head for a second, but when Lyra runs into the bedroom, she follows her.

“Come here, you,” Kara says, pulling Larissa into her arms. “Nobody can escape the tickle monster, whahaha,” she says, trying an evil laugh as she tickles Apollo, Lyra and Larissa.

Lena smiles at her girlfriend and finds herself falling even more in love with her.

 


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a surprise at the end of this chapter.

Alex gathers the plates in a box, wrapping each one in a piece of newspaper. She was a little bit surprised when Kara had texted her to ask if she could come over with her wife to help pack and move Lena’s things.

“Now this is what I call a U-Haul,” Maggie says to her wife, taping the box shut.

“Gay activity at its finest,” Lucy says, taking the glasses out of the cupboard.

“Or stupidity,” Alex mumbles, shrugging when Maggie and Lucy cast her a look. “They’re still on their pink cloud. It can be difficult for them to find the right dynamic, they were both single parents.”

“Hmm, yeah,” Lucy agrees, nodding. “But they’ll find their way through trial and error.”

Alex groans as she lifts the heavy box with plates. “Astra’s help would have been convenient,” she says, sighing.

“Someone had to watch the kids,” Maggie says, picking up a box as well. “And Astra’s the only one who can handle watching them all by herself.”

“Hey, speaking of the whole babysitting thing,” Lucy picks in. “Would you two mind babysitting the children for a couple of hours when we’re done here? I need to steal Astra for a while.”

“I don’t know, Luce,” Alex replies, sighing. “Ten children is a lot,” she says, respecting Astra a lot for being able to handle that. She can manage her triplets, but they’re human and ten children is quite a bit more to handle, especially when several of them have powers.

“We’ll babysit them,” Maggie says to Lucy.

“It’s ten children, Sawyer,” Alex points out.

“Astra deserves a break,” Maggie replies, standing by her decision. “She’s always watching the children or out saving the city.”

“You’re right,” Alex relents, sighing. “We’ll watch them.”

“I’ll get the couch,” Kara says, walking in.

“Mommy, you said a couch needs to be carried by two people,” Lyra says, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Yes, yes I did,” Kara confirms. “Which is why you’re my little helper,” she says, smiling when her daughter rushes to help her.

Lena checks her phone when she hears she received a text. “My real estate broker found a buyer, the contract has been signed,” she says with a hint of surprise in her tone. She knows the man she hired has been showing a few people around her house while she’s been working.

“Damn, that’s fast,” Lucy says, raising her eyebrows. “This is a good neighborhood, but it’s been on sale for what, two weeks?”

“One and a half,” Lena answers, nodding. “A Mrs. Woods bought my house,” she says, scrolling through the text.

“Ah, a married woman,” Lucy says.

“If she brings a husband with her he’ll be the only man in our neighborhood,” Maggie says.

“I hope it’s not a mean man like my daddy was,” Larissa says, putting her arms around Kara’s legs and ducking her head.

“Not all men are mean, sweetheart,” Lena says softly.

“Pollo sweet,” Apollo says, giving Larissa a toothy smile.

“Yes, you’re very sweet,” Larissa replies, smiling right back at Apollo. She moves to hug him, but groans when he hugs her far too tightly. “And strong,” she adds, breathing out when Lyra frees her from Apollo’s hug.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Astra stares at the building which is made out of sand-like bricks. She has no idea why Lucy brought her here. “What is this?” she asks, eyeing the building warily.

“An orphanage,” Lucy answers, pushing the strap of her purse over her shoulder. “This is the back. We have to go to the front-side.”

Astra doesn’t move, doesn’t show any sign of planning to follow Lucy around the corner. “Why did you bring me here?” she asks, hesitant.

“We’re here to look around, that’s all,” Lucy answers, signaling at Astra to follow her. “No obligations or anything,” she adds when her girlfriend doesn’t move. “Whenever you want to leave, we’ll leave.”

“Krypton had orphans, too,” Astra says, sighing as she looks down at the ground. “Orphans from war,” she explains. “They were being taken care of by the maternity guild.”

“You okay?” Lucy asks softly, putting a hand on Astra’s shoulder.

Astra didn’t answer. “Shall we?” she asks, nodding at the building, although she doesn’t plan to stay long.

“Yeah,” Lucy answers, smiling as she takes Astra’s hand, lacing their fingers together.

Inside the orphanage, children are running around. A few of them are playing with toys while others are coloring.

Their attention is caught by a little girl with dark brown unruly curly hair, hazel eyes and a milk brown skin. She’s sitting alone, coloring what looks like space.

“Hello,” Astra says, crouching down next to the little girl. “I am Astra, what is your name?”

“Hey, kiddo,” Lucy says, crouching down too. “I’m Lucy.”

“No!” a boy shouts, running up to them. The boy looks like an older male version of the little girl. He steps in between them, face fierce. “You can’t take her,” he says, taking the little girl’s hand. "My sister is mine.”

“We are not here to take your sister away from you,” Astra assures the boy.

“You can’t lie to me,” the boy replies, picking his sister up. “Everyone always wants puppies,” he says, holding his sister out of their reach. “Robin’s sister got adopted yesterday.”

“Families should not be torn apart,” Astra says, pained to hear how fast the boy’s heart is beating.

“Would you let a family adopt your sister if they adopt you, too?” Lucy asks the boy.

“My name is Sirius,” the boy says.

“Ah, brightest star in the sky,” Lucy replies, sharing a smile with Astra. “Do you hear that? Fate is calling us.”

“How old are you, Sirius?” Astra asks, eying the boy, whose heart rate is slowing down.

“Eleven,” Sirius mumbles. “Willow is five.”

Lucy gazes into Astra’s eyes and tilts her head.

Astra responds with a nod, exhaling quietly when Lucy hugs her. “All these children…,” she whispers, saddened to see so many orphans.

“Will find homes,” Lucy whispers, caressing Astra’s back.

“Is there a limit as to how many children one may adopt?”

Lucy chuckles, breaking their hug. “As much as I love you, we can’t adopt all of them,” she answers silently. “And I know I said the whole thing about ten children if that’s what would make you happy, but I’m kind of hoping here you don’t want to adopt ten children. I was thinking that if you would be okay with adopting a child it could be one child, two tops. We can discuss this privately and come back later if that helps.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lena sighs as she throws a stack of papers into the garbage bin. She’s been at work since seven this morning and it’s almost seven at night now. There’s so much to do that she’d texted Kara that she wouldn’t be home for dinner. There was no point to make her wait with the children while she’s nowhere near done here.

She sent her secretary home, considering the poor woman has been working far too many hours. Her secretary has been a blessing, always willing to stay at work while she’s at work, though she cannot possibly ask her to work that much.

Atop her desk is a picture where she’s embracing Kara. They’re both smiling, which makes her smile each time she looks at it. On the other side, across from it, is a picture of Lyra, Larissa and Apollo. She sighs, happy with the little family she has.

What Kara doesn’t know, however, is that she asked and paid Jessica to track Mon-El down, to find up what he’s up to. Her goal isn’t to bring him home, no, not at all. She’s worried he might come back someday and hurt Kara, Lyra and Apollo all over again by abandoning them again or simply by ripping those old wounds open.

It’s not ideal that she’s going behind her girlfriend’s back. Deep down, she’s terrified to lose Kara, Lyra and Apollo. It’s a tad selfish, but she doesn’t want him to take their happiness away.

Her phone chimes, causing her to startle. She picks it up from her desk, seeing it’s a text from Jessica who’s asking her to meet up because she has answers. Frowning, she replies, surprised by how fast Jessica has handled.

The sound of glass shattering behind her has Lena jumping up.

“I… oh Rao, I thought it was open,” Kara says, clad as Supergirl, cringing at the sight of the glass. “I’ll clean it up.”

Lena raises an eyebrow. “You’ve always known how to make a clumsy entrance, darling,” she replies, amused.

Kara clears her throat, remembering why she came here. “Good evening, Miss Luthor,” she says with a flirty tone.

Lena stumbles when Kara backs her up. Her lips part at the sight of her girlfriend’s naughty smirk and blown pupils. She walks back until Kara has her pressed up against the wall, trapped between her arms. “Where are the children?” she asks, because her girlfriend was supposed to be with them.

“My aunt is watching them,” Kara answers, smiling softly, but then her expressions changed again. “I’m here for dessert,” she says darkly.

Lena’s knees buck when Kara sucks on her earlobe. “Dessert sounds good,” she whispers, breathlessly.

“Shhh,” Kara says, pressing her index finger against Lena’s lips. “The only sounds I want to hear from you are moans or you begging me for a release, is that understood?”

“Fuck,” Lena curses, feeling herself getting soaked. Seeing and hearing Kara being this dominant turns her on. She hadn’t expected her girlfriend would be capable of doing this and she can see in the small cracks in her expression that Kara isn’t sure if it’s okay.

Kara groans when Lena leans in for a kiss and when her lip is being bit. Foregoing patience, she rips her girlfriend’s blouse open, smirking as the buttons drop to the floor. She hooks one of Lena’s legs around her waist and lifts her up, supporting her weight as a hand makes it to her creamy thigh.

Lena quietly thanks herself for wearing a skirt, which makes this much easier for Kara. She whimpers when a hand brushes over her panties, feather light. “Mhmm,” she moans, waiting for more, but her girlfriend simply grins at her and retracts her hand. “Kara,” she whines, wound up.

Kara puts Lena down and cups a hand behind her ear. “I don’t hear you begging,” she says, licking her lips as her girlfriend steps out of her skirt.

Lena practically throws herself at Kara, tangling her hands in her hair as she kisses her roughly. She moans when her girlfriend responds, slipping her tongue into her mouth.

Kara responds to Lena’s moan with one of her own and swiftly tears her bra off. She backs her up against the wall again and this time when she tries to trap her girlfriend between the wall and her body, she ends up pushing a hole into the wall.

“Fuck, Kara,” Lena moans, too turned on to care if Kara ends up wrecking her office or not. “I need you,” she whispers, kissing her neck.

Kara kisses Lena and carries her over to the desk. She flinches when the desk falls apart and when she hears her girlfriend hiss.

“I’m fine,” Lena mumbles, pulling Kara down. She knows she’ll have a few bruises later, but when it comes down to consented intimacy, it’s worth it. “My office is fine, don’t stop.”

Kara pauses at the sight of glass on the floor, bits of cement from the hole in the wall, the ruined desk and a broken lamp. Wait, when did she break that lamp? She refocuses when Lena kneels down in front of her, fingers hooked in her underwear.

“Please,” Lena begs as Kara lifts her chin with one finger. “Let me,” she whispers, her fingers ready to pull her girlfriend’s underwear down.

Kara shakes her head no and pulls Lena up. “I’m not done with you yet,” she rasps.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise. :)


	21. Chapter 21

Lena stares wide-eyed at the documents Jessica presented. She runs a hand through her hair, unsure what to think. “You’re certain?” she asks Jessica, whispering over the table as she wraps her fingers around her cup of coffee.

“I wouldn’t be showing you this if I wasn’t,” Jessica answers, sipping from her coffee.

“But Kara said he abandoned them,” Lena replies, shaking her head in disbelief. “And… and you’re telling me he’s been dead for two years and a half?”

“Afraid so,” Jessica confirms, nodding her head once.

Lena’s eyes skim through the documents, reading over and over again that Mon-El is dead. She downs her coffee, wishing it would have been a glass of wine or something stronger. By the way Jessica is bouncing her leg up and down while hardly looking into her eyes she knows that she knows more.

Perhaps she shouldn’t be digging this up, but while she’s holding the shovel she might as well continue. “How did he die?” she asks, tilting her head.

Jessica zips her leather jacket open, pulling an envelope out of her inner pocket. She throws the envelope on the table. “You should know,” she answers, scoffing.

Lena frowns deeply. “What is that supposed to mean?” she asks, reaching for the envelope.

Jessica laughs darkly and throws money on the table to pay for the bill. “Your mother is the one who murdered him,” she answers, chair screeching over the floor as she pushes it back. “He was an asshole, I’ll give you that, but what she did was inhumane.”

“No,” Lena replies, jaw slack. “This has to be a mistake, Jess.”

“I don’t make mistakes,” Jessica says, zipping her jacket.

“My mother is many things, but I never thought she would be a murderer,” Lena says, clenching her jaw as she looks at the evidence, which backs up Jessica’s words.

Jessica sighs and signals the bartender for another round. “Your mother tortured him for weeks, using lead, filming all of it for her own sick pleasure,” she explains quietly. “She tortured him because she wanted him to tell her where Supergirl was. Supergirl, who at the time, had remained unseen.”

“Because she’d just given birth to Apollo,” Lena fills in, nodding. She knows Kara had been off the grid for a while due to that reason.

“Mon-El was bad news either way and he may not have been father of the year, but he didn’t abandon those kids or his wife.”

“You found dirt on my mother before and now this,” Lena says, sighing as she puts her hands in her hair. “She has hurt too many people,” she says, steeling her expressions. “I am going to drag her to court before she can get out of prison to ensure they will keep her there until the end of her days, this is war. Humans aren’t the only ones who have rights.”

“You’re a tough chick,” Jessica replies, unzipping her jacket to hang it over the chair. “I’m in, let’s take that bitch down.”

“That bitch happens to be my mother,” Lena snaps.

Jessica holds her hands up.

“Only I get to call her that,” Lena adds.

“Understood,” Jessica says, giving Lena an acknowledging nod. “So, when are you going to tell Kara?”

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Welcome to our neighborhood,” Kara says, smiling brightly at their new neighbors. “I’m Kara Danvers,” she says, taking a moment to introduce the others as well.

“I’m Clarke,” the blonde answers, smiling back. “This goddess is Lexa and this angel is Aden.”

Lucy nudges Kara’s side. “Gay,” she whispers.

Kara sighs and nudges Lucy back, wanting to remind her that not everyone is gay. Two women living together with a child doesn’t mean they’re together. They could be sisters or cousins or friends.

“You’re the second guy in our neighborhood, kid,” Maggie says to Aden.

“Hi!” Apollo coos, waving at the new neighbors.

“Aww,” Clarke says, smiling. “Who is this little cutie?”

“Apollo,” Kara answers, caressing her son’s cheek.

“What kind of work do you two do?” Alex asks Clarke and Lexa.

“I’m a doctor, I work at the clinic,” Clarke answers. “My wife is a lawyer.”

Lucy smirks at Kara and gives her a I-told-you-so look. “Well in that case,” she says, clapping her hands together. “Welcome to the gayborhood.”

“If you need any help with boxes or something else, we’d be happy to help,” Kara offers.

“And if you’re looking for a babysitter, Astra always watches the children,” Lena adds.

“Eleven children though,” Alex says, chewing her bottom lip. “Twelve once Harley has Vladimir.”

“Might be even more soon,” Lucy mumbles.

“Hm?” Maggie asks Lucy.

“Nothing,” Lucy answers, shrugging. “Just saying there might always be more if someone else decides to have kids or more kids.”

“Yeah, right,” Maggie replies, crossing her arms over her chest. “ _Someone_ ,” she says knowingly.

“By the way, Astra can’t watch the kids tomorrow,” Lucy announces. “She’s going somewhere with me for stuff.”

“Too much information, Luce,” Kara replies, scrunching her nose up.

Lucy chuckles. “You’re way off,” she says to Kara.

“Who is going to watch Jamie, Molly and Riley tomorrow?” Alex asks nobody in particular. “I have to work, so I can’t,” she says, sighing because the DEO needs her.

“Sorry, babe,” Maggie says, shaking her head. “I have to work, too. Chief’s going to fire me if I bail out.”

“I’d watch them if I could, but Miss Grant expects me to interview Maxwell Lord about his newest technology,” Kara says apologetically. She doesn’t even know who is going to watch her children.

“Hmm, I’d ask Harley, but she’s too pregnant to babysit so many children,” Alex says, trying to find a solution.

“How about I watch the triplets tomorrow?” Lena offers, even though it’s not ideal. “As a CEO, I am free to choose my own hours. I can work from home tomorrow while I watch the children.”

“I don’t know,” Alex replies, glancing at her wife. “You’re going to babysit Lyra, Apollo, Larissa, Molly, Jamie and Riley all by yourself?” she asks, raising her eyebrows.

Lena swallows, realizing that six children is a lot to babysit, but then again, if she can run a company, she can babysit six children. It can’t be that hard, she’s a businesswoman.

“Thanks, my love,” Kara whispers, pecking Lena’s cheek. “I’m sure you’ll do great,” she says, believing in her girlfriend.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Kara tries to focus as Miss Grant speaks, but so far she ruined her stapler, dented her chair and snapped her glasses in half. Thankfully, she had a spare pair of glasses on her. Last night had been nothing short of horrible. She struggles to accept Mon-El was murdered, which is what Lena told her.

She’s not happy Lena had Jessica dig around to find information on him, but she’s not angry either because otherwise she’d have never known. It hurt how much she had been loathing her ex-husband, thinking he abandoned her and their children when in reality he had been dead all along, tortured by that lunatic.

It took Lena a lot of convincing to keep her from flying over to jail to take revenge. She wants Lillian to suffer for what she did, for torturing and murdering the father of her children. It’s a slight relief Lena is going to drag her to court to put her behind bars forever.

“Kiera, I need you to visit Maxwell Lord to interview him,” Cat says, snapping her fingers in front of Kara’s face, sighing when she jumps up. “Millennials and their petty issues about their feelings. You have to stay focused. You can’t let your private life interfere with work.”

“I know,” Kara sighs, fixing her glasses on her nose. “I’m work on focused,” she says quickly, cringing when she’s too late to catch her mistake.

“On second thought, I’ll send someone else,” Cat says, eyeing Kara with a strange look in her eyes. “Take time off from work until you’re no longer standing there like an alien who can’t figure out how to blend in exactly.”

Kara frowns at Cat’s choice of words, wondering if they’re a hint at her secret identity. “I’m sorry, Miss Grant,” she apologizes, sighing. “It’s not every day you hear your lost husband was actually murdered,” she blurts out before she can stop herself.

“Oh Kiera,” Cat whispers, sighing. “Grab your coat. We’re going out for lunch.”

Kara isn’t hungry, but she doesn’t have the energy to argue or reject, so she mutely grabs her coat and follows Miss Grant. She’s still partially angry at Mon-El, even though he was murdered and hadn’t abandoned their children and her like she originally thought. During the time he’s been gone, she realized a lot of things that were off.

Someday she’ll have to tell her children the truth. When they’re old enough, they deserve to know their father didn’t abandon them. It will be a bitter pill to let them know he was murdered, but it’s the truth. There is always a chance they would try to find him when they’re older if they don’t know he was killed. She appreciates it that Lena told her as soon as she found out and it’s a relief her girlfriend is dragging Lillian to court herself already.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lena heaves out a breath when she leaves the building, shuddering, knowing she did it. Her mother is never going to be released from prison, ever. The judge had been fair and now Lillian will be sent to a different prison, one for the worst of the worst. The judge also said Lillian needs to pay money to Kara and the children for the damage she cost.

It was a long tiring trial which had lasted many months, but it was finally over now.

“Hey,” Kara says, pulling Lena into a hug. “You okay?” she asks, knowing that despite everything, Lillian was Lena’s mother.

Lena nods. “Justice has been served,” she answers with a strained smile.

Kara nods in agreement. “Let’s go home to our family,” she says, extending her hand to Lena as she steps back.

“I’d like nothing more than that,” Lena replies, accepting Kara’s hand. Tonight, she will propose to her girlfriend, hoping she can have a second chance with her and rectify the mistake she made all those years ago when she had rejected Kara’s proposal.

Kara smiles and gives Lena’s hand a squeeze, swinging their arms on their way home. They have both been through enough and it is all over now. Their demons belong to their past and their fresh start is no longer tainted.

“I love you, Kara,” Lena says as they walk.

Kara smiles even brighter at that. “I love you, too, Lena,” she replies earnestly. “Our children are going to be happy you’ll be home more,” she says, remembering her girlfriend promised she would be.

“Perks of being able to choose my own hours,” Lena says, chuckling. If it hadn’t been for the trial soaking up so much of her time, she’d have been home more already.

“By the way, Luce said my aunt and she have some sort of surprise,” Kara announces. “I have no idea what it is, but she was literally screaming on the phone and I’d like to think it was out of joy, but I’m not sure. It didn’t sound like she was in distress or in any trouble though.”

“Only one way to find out,” Lena replies, wondering what the surprise could be.

Kara walks a little bit faster, laughing when Lena has to run in her heels to keep up. “Sorry,” she mumbles, blushing.

“No you’re not,” Lena points out knowingly. “Dork,” she whispers affectionately.

Kara is about to knock on the door of her aunt’s house where everyone should be because her sister was going to take their children here, but she notices it’s open, so she pushes it open further. “We’re back,” she calls out, smiling. “What’s the sur – oh Rao,” she whispers, gasping.

Lena’s eyes widen at the sight of a large banner hanging in the middle of the living room.

_It’s three boys and five girls!_

“Erm so… Star and I adopted eight children,” Lucy says with an awkward nervous smile.

Astra smiles proudly and she’s glowing, handing out cookies to the children.

“Don’t even ask,” Lucy mumbles to Kara and Lena, shaking her head.

Lena laughs, humored. “You’re so whipped,” she says to Lucy. She glances at Kara who is looking at the children with a particular light in her eyes, one that seems to say she’s dreaming of having more children. “In this family it is difficult not be whipped, I suppose,” she concludes.

Later that day when Lena proposes to Kara, Kara cries and says yes.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are appreciated. :)  
> You can find me on twitter @Silent_Rain91
> 
> ***DO NOT REPOST ANY OF MY STORIES ANYWHERE EVER, I DO NOT GIVE PERMISSION FOR THIS***


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